The town of Four Corners may have been cautiously surprised when the news broke that Ezra Standish was getting married, but it was shocked and amazed when he bought the run-down house at the north end of town and then set about repairing it…himself. The sight of the reportedly lazy gambler pounding away at the roof of the house with his sleeves rolled up caused more than one person to stop dead in the street and just stare. The novelty eventually wore off for most of the watchers…but even a week into Ezra’s renovations Nathan could still be seen staring down the street from the small balcony outside his clinic, looking for all the world like he just couldn’t believe his eyes.

Juliet had been busy with the house as well; much to Ezra and Josiah’s dismay the small woman had determinedly added the house to her already extensive ‘to do list’ the same day her fiancé had shown it to her to get her approval. She had polished woodwork and windows, scrubbed floors and walls, dug up weed-choked flowerbeds and transplanted hardy indigenous vines and bushes. She had even hammered together a door-sized framework of narrow wood strips which was then covered with fine netting and hung on small hinges inside the kitchen door to keep out flies. It was through this screened door one day that the working men had been startled to notice the smell of cooking wafting out into the hot air; they knew that Juliet was trying the stove to make sure everything was working properly but hadn’t thought she had anything in the kitchen to cook in, much less to cook with. Further investigation revealed a battered tin pan full of water bubbling on the freshly-blacked stove and containing nothing more than two broken sticks of cinnamon and a scattering of crushed herbs, something Juliet said was called ‘potpourri’ and assured them was completely inedible. "It’s just to make the house smell good," she told the disappointed men. "Everything smelled like whitewash and blacking before, now it smells like home."

Ezra had forgotten how good it felt to have a home. Evenings now often found him sitting on the freshly whitewashed porch, watching the town and remembering the last time he’d felt so contented, seven years ago in Beaver Dam. It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to think about his old life without a bottle of bourbon nearby, but now he had Juliet and she took the sting away much more pleasantly than raw whiskey ever had. She often joined him on the porch in the afternoon before she went to start supper at the hotel and they would sit together and watch the town and talk about…everything. Juliet told him about her family and the friends she’d had in college, and Ezra reciprocated by telling her tales of his wanderings after his discharge from the army, of the places he’d been and the people he’d met—although he was careful to avoid the subject of his mother whenever possible, not knowing quite how to explain Maude in a way that wouldn’t make his protective little fiancée take an instant dislike to her. What he didn’t realize was that Juliet had noticed the omission and put an interpretation on it that couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

It was on one of these occasions that their conversation was interrupted by the sight of two riders coming in from the west, one man on a docile-looking palomino and his taller companion mounted on a magnificent chestnut stallion with a black mane and tail. They reigned to a halt in front of the whitewashed gate and both tipped their hats. "Excuse me," the smaller man said pleasantly. "I wonder if you could help us? We’re looking for Juliet Moore…"

Ezra was off the porch and between the riders and his startled fiancée in an instant, hand already on the butt of his gun. "And what would you be wantin’ with Miss Moore?" he demanded icily.

Both men froze; then the stallion let out a nickering snort and bobbed his head and they both relaxed. "She’s my sister," the man said, swinging down out of the saddle; dismounted, he was the same size as Ezra. "Our uncle, Artemus Gordon, tracked me down and told me my long-lost baby sister was living in Four Corners and about to get married—I came as quick as I could." His companion dismounted as well and stood at his side. "I’m Jesse McLaughlin and this is my friend Charlie Corielle."

Ezra relaxed his guard at the mention of Gordon’s name; he remembered the two Secret Service agents mentioning a possible ‘family’ for Juliet and guessed that this was who they’d been talking about. "Ezra Standish," he replied. "You’ll have to forgive my less than welcomin’ reception, gentlemen, but as ah’m certain Mr. Gordon informed you we’ve had some trouble around here recently."

Jesse and Charlie both nodded, having recognized the gambler’s name as well…and then they both froze again; Juliet had come down off the porch and cautiously moved to her fiancé’s side, one slender hand resting on his blue-jacketed arm. James West had told her about two men from her own world - or, at least one much like it - and had warned her laughingly that as soon as he told them about her Jesse would immediately want to adopt her. He’s an orphan, you see, and he has a real bee in his bonnet about family, was what West had said. I know Jesse pretty well, and it’s going to tickle him to death to add a little sister to the mix - if anyone asks you, just tell people that he left with his grandfather to come West when you were very small; it’s technically true, and the War broke up a lot of families that way so no one will ask any more questions. She’d been relieved that the Secret Service agent had respected her desire to avoid lying as much as possible. "You’re…my brother? Jesse?"

Jesse’s face blossomed with a huge grin. "That would be me," he confirmed happily. A slightly worried look suddenly appeared on his face. "If that’s okay with you, of course."

Juliet nodded but didn’t release the tight grip she had on Ezra’s jacket. The gambler had been entertaining the idea - much as he didn’t like it - that she might want to speak to the two men alone, but to his relief he realized that they were just as much strangers to her as anyone else from out of town would have been. "I’m sorry we can’t invite you inside, gentlemen - the house lacks amenities at the moment," he told them. "But you are more than welcome to join us on the steps of our future home instead."

Jesse nodded, but Charlie said, "I’m gonna go put the horses up and get us a room for the night, it’s been a long ride. How ‘bout I meet you all at the hotel for supper later?"

The smaller man laughed. "How about I come get you at the saloon later and we’ll go to supper together?"

Charlie grinned and slapped his friend lightly on the shoulder. "This guy knows me too well," he told Ezra and Juliet with a wink. "See you both later, then?"

Ezra shook his head. "Regretfully, I have the dusk patrol this evenin’, although I might see you afterward if you return to the saloon."

"And I’m due back at the hotel in an hour," Juliet told him. "But you’ll more than likely see me there when you come for supper."

Charlie tipped his hat in acknowledgment and led both horses away. Jesse returned his full attention to his new sister and her husband-to-be. "I have to admit, Charlie and I just about died when Jim told us there was someone else here from…back home. How many other people here know about where we’re from? I don’t want to slip in front of anyone who doesn’t."

"Only the seven of us know what happened, Mr. McLaughlin," Ezra told him. "You may still wish to avoid the subject around Mr. Jackson, however; he is openly skeptical of the whole situation and can be somewhat…abrasive."

"Yes, Artemus told us about him." Jesse grimaced slightly; Gordon had had a lot to say about Nathan Jackson. "But it’s just Jesse, please; after all, you’re about to become part of the family, Mr. Standish."

The gambler smiled. "Ezra. You’ve known Agents Gordon and West for some time, then?"

"About five years," Jesse replied. "Charlie and I had the same ethical dilemma Juliet did; we had all this information that could do a lot of good in the world, but we had to find someone we could trust to share it with because it could cause a lot of harm too."

"They were the only people I could think of who might be willing to believe something so strange," Juliet agreed with a shrug. "I never watched much television back home, but my father loved the Wild Wild West; I just had my fingers crossed that the Baxter sisters were right about this being an alternate reality where fictional characters could be real."

"I wish we knew how they knew that," Jesse said. "Or how they got here to begin with. Juliet, when they grabbed you in Denver do you remember seeing something that looked like a skull made of clear crystal?"

"They had something over my eyes, I couldn’t see anything," she told him regretfully. "And I was so panicked I couldn’t think straight…but I think they had something drawn out or laid out on the ground in the place they took me to, because they were very careful about where we stepped and when they pushed me down on the ground Catie warned me not to ‘disturb anything’ if I wanted to live." Ezra saw the little shudder she was trying to hold back and slid his arm around her shoulders; Juliet lifted her eyes to his for a moment and then looked back at Jesse. "They didn’t have anything like what you describe when we got here, though, and there wasn’t any place they could have hidden it that I could see."

"Nor did they have such a thing with them a month ago," Ezra added. "From what I was able to observe at the time, the two of them seemed to be waiting for something to occur and planning their own actions to coincide with it."

"Waiting for signs that the rift was about to reopen," Jesse agreed. "That’s actually a very good thing; it means they had no control over the situation once they got here…which means neither of them had harnessed the power of a crystal skull, thank god."

"You mean…like you had harnessed it?" Ezra ventured uneasily. Truth be told, the conversation had started making him nervous once ‘fictional characters’ were mentioned - he hadn’t forgotten the Baxter sisters’ uncanny knowledge of the Seven or their assertion that they had ‘watched the show back home’, and the idea that in Juliet’s world Ezra P. Standish was only a figment of someone’s imagination was unnerving to say the least. "Was such a skull the method you utilized to get here?"

"Sort of," was the other man’s answer. "I wasn’t actually trying to ‘get’ anywhere, I was just trying to rescue Charlie and Maya, my wife - she’s from South America about a thousand years ago, but that’s another story. The skull just opened a portal to get me to them and then…well, then we couldn’t get back. I ended up having to destroy the skull later on, it was just…too powerful."

Ezra relaxed noticeably once Jesse mentioned destroying the skull and Juliet covered his free hand with hers, patting it reassuringly. "But it couldn’t get you home?" she wanted to know.

Jesse smiled. "By the time I realized it could have, this was home. Sure I miss modern technology sometimes, but I’d miss leading a useful life even more. I was never this happy in the twentieth century."

"I wouldn’t really want to go back either," Juliet agreed softly. "I miss my family…but I’m happier here too."

Ezra tightened his grip on her to a gentle one-armed hug. "Ah’m certainly glad to hear that."

Jesse hid another smile; now he understood why Gordon had said you couldn’t look at the gambler without seeing that he was head-over-heels in love - the emotion just radiated from him every time he looked at Juliet. He and Charlie still needed to have a man-to-man talk with Ezra about the differences between the nineteenth century and the twentieth as far as women were concerned, but so far it didn’t look to Jesse like there was going to be a problem. "So, Ezra, is your family coming to the wedding?" he asked.

"That won’t be possible," the Southerner began. "Mah mother…"

"Ezra’s mother won’t be able to attend," Juliet interrupted quickly.

Too quickly. Jesse frowned, maybe there was a problem after all - but he didn’t miss the startled look that flashed across Ezra’s face, either. "Is something wrong, Juliet? Does Ezra’s family have some sort of problem with the two of you getting married?" Juliet blushed and murmured something, shaking her head, and the rancher froze. "What did you just say?"

She sighed and squared her slender shoulders. "This world isn’t like ours, Jesse, and I fully understand why Ezra can’t tell his mother about me. It’s a serious thing to marry below one’s station…"

"What?!" Ezra almost came up off the porch. "Who could possibly have told you such a thing?"

The small woman started but gave him a slightly wounded look. "Ah’m not stupid, Ezra," she said, blushing again. "The only thing anyone in town will say about your mother is that she is very proper and very concerned with appearances and you won’t speak about her to me at all. Ah understand, truly ah do."

"Ah am an idiot for not anticipatin’ this," the gambler groaned. "Darlin’, you don’t understand. Mah mother…"

"No, Ezra, please, you don’t have to explain." Juliet looked absolutely mortified. "Ah don’t want my…lack of breeding to cause problems for you with your family…"

Ezra cut her off by putting his hand over her mouth. "Juliet, when it comes to mah mother, you causin’ any problems is the least of mah worries. And yes ah do have to explain - ah should have explained weeks ago. Ah have been avoidin’ the subject and ah’m sorry. Now may ah explain, please?"

She nodded, wide-eyed, and he removed his hand. Jesse was trying hard not to laugh. "Misunderstanding?" he asked.

"Miscommunication," Ezra clarified. "Apparently more than one person around here has been operatin’ under the maxim that if one cannot say somethin’ complimentary then it is better to say nothin’ at all - which can be a very tricky proposition where Maude Standish is concerned." He captured Juliet’s hands and held them tightly in his own. "Cherie, Mother can be very proper, true, and she is very concerned with appearances…but that’s because she’s a conwoman, darlin’, deceivin’ by appearances is how she makes her way in the world. And you were partially correct, ah haven’t informed her of your existence because she would be violently opposed to our marriage - but she was to mah marryin’ Christina as well, and her family was so blue-blooded that the Governor and two generals were guests at our weddin’!" Seeing that he still didn’t have her completely convinced, Ezra stood up and tugged her up with him. "Ah’ll prove it to you. Jesse, if you would care to join us…"

Jesse trailed the two of them up the stairs and into the house, curious to see what it was Ezra had to show them. The small two-story house, although mostly empty, already had a warm, comfortable feel to it that he knew to be a result of the love, hope and dreams the couple was pouring into it through their work to get it ready to live in - he knew this because his own house in Skull Valley possessed the same welcoming warmth, and any lingering reservations he might have had about the union between his new sister and the gambler slipped away. "This is a nice house, guys; kind of reminds me of home."

"You wouldn’t have thought that a month ago," Juliet told him. "It had been sitting empty for a very long time."

"Yes, luckily it had been quite well constructed to begin with," Ezra added. "Neglect had taken its toll, however - we’ve had to replace most of the roof. Another day or so should see that completed, thank goodness." He had unlocked a cupboard to pull out a sturdy box which he placed on the small hall table. From inside he extracted a folded letter written on fine paper and, scanning the contents thoughtfully, held it out to his fiancée. "There it is, mah proof. Judge Calloway knows Mother quite well - better than she would like, if truth be told. Ah had mentioned in mah last letter to him that ah was still debating whether or not to invite her to our weddin’, and this was his response."

Juliet took the letter and obediently dropped her eyes to the passage he indicated; Jesse moved closer so he could read over her shoulder. The firm, flowing script read:

Ezra carefully removed a cloth-wrapped bundle from the box and set it on the table. Almost reverently he peeled away the soft, protecting layers of cloth to reveal a heavy silver punchbowl, plain but elegant and beautifully made. "This has been in their family for generations," he said softly, his fingers tracing a raised vine. "They’ve used it at every weddin’ and christenin’, and in between times it sat in state in a glass case that only the Judge carried the key to. Ah remember hearin’ him respond to someone askin’ if they might borrow it for their own occasion that it was ‘for Calloways only’."

"But he sent it to you," Jesse observed quietly.

"Yes, he did." Ezra sighed and shook his head. "Ah’m the only one left," he explained. "His daughter, his sons…the War took them all. Ah’ve kept in touch when ah could; he’d wanted me to remain at the family estate with him after ah was discharged, but he understood why ah had to leave and all he asked was that ah didn’t forget him." He fingered the bowl reverently and a slight smile crossed his face. "Ah’m not certain the name will mean anything to either of you, but this fine piece of smithwork was actually crafted by a national hero from times gone by; see, his name is here, on the base." He flipped the bowl over and held it to the light so the faded etching was clearly visible.

Jesse and Juliet both gasped when they saw it. "I’d say we know who he is," Jesse breathed. "Good god, Ezra, where we’re from that would be in a museum under lock and key!"

Juliet extended a careful finger to trace lightly over the inscription. "In the midst of a nation’s turmoil," she read. "So long as its citizens live and love there is hope for its future."

"Truer words were never spoken," Ezra said quietly, his green eyes glistening with old memories. "And there’s a story behind them as well; a hundred-odd years ago when one of the original scions of the Calloway family found it occasion to give his eldest daughter in marriage, he discovered that due to the national unrest there could be found no silversmith willing to make a wedding punchbowl save those of a political persuasion that was an anathema to him and his family. He was told by all others he inquired of that it would be a shame to craft so frivolous an item under such circumstances, and several of them indeed admonished him for planning a wedding party at all; the union should be solemnized in the church in a subdued manner, he was told, with no unseemly gaiety or celebration. The proud father despaired for a time but continued to search, not wishing to deprive his beloved daughter of the joy and merriment that a happy bride is entitled to," here a slightly troubled expression flickered across Ezra’s face and just as quickly disappeared, "and he finally encountered an artisan who disagreed with the stand taken by the others of his trade and said he would be honored to make the bowl. The inscription was Revere’s own sentiment, and the bowl has been kept by the Calloway family as a treasured heirloom evah since that time."

"And we shall continue to treasure it," Juliet told him. She took the bowl from him and carefully re-wrapped it before putting it back in the box and replacing the lid. Then she took his hands in hers and looked up into his eyes with a troubled frown. "You could have told me about your mother, Ezra."

He squeezed those small, capable hands and shook his head. "Ah didn’t know how to approach the subject, darlin’. How is a man supposed to explain to the woman he loves that his mother will be hell-bent on destroyin’ them both as soon as she learns of her existence? Juliet, ah’ve just been thankin’ mah lucky stars that Mother hasn’t attempted to visit me recently!"

"Sounds like you’re afraid of her," Jesse observed. The gambler made a motion in the direction of being offended, but the rancher shook his head. "Also sounds like you’ve got good reason to be, Ezra, I didn’t mean any offence. How exactly did the Judge handle her before? The letter said he had ‘more power than Maude did,’ what kind of power did he mean? Political or financial?"

"Money is an attractant to Mother, not a deterrent," Ezra answered with a sigh. "He called in some favors, basically let word get out that anyone attemptin’ to molest a member of the Calloway family - and that included me - would face the harshest possible recriminations. Mother fled the state after one of her more unsavory ‘acquaintances’ proved the validity of the threat."

Jesse noticed that the man didn’t say what the ‘acquaintance’ had done, but there was a look in his green eyes that left no doubt in Jesse’s mind whom it had been done to. "But here, your friends…" Juliet began.

"Are vulnerable to her machinations in ways the Judge was not," the gambler interrupted sadly. "Ah still believe it was no coincidence that Mr. Tanner’s demons tracked him down and Mr. Wilmington was beset by a rather distractin’ problem of his own at about the same time that ah had in a roundabout way announced my intention to stay in Four Corners indefinitely." He bit his lip, looking down into her face with troubled green eyes. "And now ah’m announcin’ it again, and ah can’t be sure that ah can prevent history from repeatin’ itself."

"History only repeats itself when we don’t learn from it," Jesse stated thoughtfully. He knew that he himself had been lucky that way; Charlie had remembered the lessons a hellacious week in the McLaughlin family’s ancestral home had taught him and had applied what he’d learned at a time when Jesse had been too deep in the thrall of the Skull to notice whose decaying footsteps he was following in. "Ezra, have you shared any of this with anyone else?"

The gambler frowned and shook his head. "Ah discussed the situation privately with Mr. Larabee and it is entirely possible he may have mentioned it to Judge Travis, but to the best of my knowledge they are the only ones who know the situation."

"Nope, that’s not enough," Jesse told him. "See, that’s what happened last time; no one else knew to expect trouble and you didn’t know what kind it would be, so everyone was caught unprepared. But this time…Ezra, what if this time everyone knew?"

Understanding began to dawn on Ezra’s face, but Juliet looked dubious. "This isn’t the sort of thing you can just go around telling people, though; and even if you could, quite a few of them probably wouldn’t take it seriously."

"That’s why we won’t tell them, cherie." The gambler’s grin widened to expose his gold tooth. "If Jesse and I are thinkin’ along the same lines, all we need to do is discuss the matter with the others tonight in the saloon and gossip will take care of the rest."

"This is a small town, word will spread like wildfire," Jesse chimed in. "Within a few days you two will be safer than the gold at Fort Knox!"

Juliet laughed, but Ezra gave them both a blank look. Jesse made a face. "I don’t suppose you remember when the federal reserve started being kept at Fort Knox, do you, Juliet?" he asked, a little plaintively.

She thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Apparently it hasn’t yet," was the rueful answer. "Pity one of us wasn’t a history major, it might come in handy."

"I’ve thought that myself more than once over the years," Jesse admitted. "But the closest I ever got was taking History of Art - and I think I made a C in that."

"I was making a B in European History, but that hasn’t helped me much here," Juliet told him. "And a lot of what I thought I knew about American history turned out to be wrong."

"You weren’t wrong about the War," Ezra observed quietly. "You knew a good deal about that."

He immediately had her full attention; Juliet knew that thinking about the War that had taken so much from him was difficult for the man she loved. "Only because my grandmother told me, ma cher," she replied. "She told Michael and I all the stories her grandmother had told her, she taught us to be proud of our heritage as Southerners and as Cajuns." She lifted one small hand to gently touch his cheek. "She would have loved you - Grandmere always said I should marry a true Southern gentleman, but she never thought we’d be able to find one."

Ezra captured the dainty hand and kissed it. "And whether you have or not is a mattah of opinion, cherie, but you are certainly worthy of one so ah shall definitely do mah best." He abruptly remembered they weren’t alone and colored slightly. "Oh, mah apologies, Jesse."

"None needed," the other man chuckled. "You’re actually setting my mind at rest, here - although you’re making me miss Maya something awful." He moved a little closer and cautiously put a hand on his new sister’s shoulder. "The thing I was most worried about was whether you were going to be happy here, Juliet, and I’m really glad to see that you are."

Juliet blinked up at him…and then Jesse found himself on the receiving end of a very impulsive hug that he was more than happy to return. They broke apart just as quickly when Juliet heard a wagon go by outside in the street. "Oh no, that’s the milk wagon, either he’s early or I’m late! I’ll see you at supper, Jesse - be sure you tell Mrs. Abbott who you are." She went up on tiptoe to kiss her fiancé and then was out the door before either man could say a word.

"I don’t suppose your uncle happened to mention how industrious your sister is?" Ezra asked with a slight smile.

"He mentioned quite a bit about it," was the thoughtful reply. Jesse cocked an eyebrow at the gambler. "Artemus mentioned quite a bit about a lot of things he noticed while he was here. Do we still have a problem with Mr. Jackson?"

Ezra shrugged. "He’s keepin’ his problem to himself, and so long as he does ah have no problem with him. It has been made clear to him, however, that if he evah again airs his opinion around Juliet his problem will be solved by a bullet fired from mah gun."

Jesse didn’t doubt that for a minute. "How about Catie Baxter? Has there been any sign of her?"

"No, she hasn’t reappeared," the gambler told him. "We’ve made it generally known that we don’t believe her foolish enough to return to the area."

"Do you think she’ll come back?" Jesse wanted to know, hearing what Ezra wasn’t saying. "I’m pretty sure from what I’ve heard that she doesn’t actually need Juliet any more, but…"

"But her kind don’t like to lose, and now her prime motivator will be revenge instead of necessity," Ezra said. "And a lifetime of prior experience with her kind," he patted the letter that still lay on top of the box, "tells me Miss Baxter will definitely be back…when we least expect her."

Chris came out of the Clarion office and scanned the street…then he scanned it again. In spite of what he’d told the judge a week ago, not having caught Catie Baxter was still worrying him. Like Ezra, he knew she wasn’t the type to just ride off into oblivion and never be seen again, and his instincts warned him that she would eventually come back for Juliet—and possibly to seek revenge on the rest of them as well. So far, though, there had been no sign of her and Chris was finding it easier and easier to push his worry aside in the face of other considerations…like wondering if Ezra had checked his stovepipe for soundness yet or if the gambler had been repairing loose shingles in the hot sun for too long. He decided that he would have to check on things himself tomorrow, no one was taking him seriously about the stovepipe.

He entered the saloon mostly unnoticed and spotted Nathan sharing a drink with Vin. "You know, he’s been puttin’ up a good show of workin’ awful hard," he heard the black man observe cautiously. "But Ezra sure takes a whole lotta breaks over the course of the day, almost like he’s sickly or somethin’ - bet they’d already have that roof done if he’d work straight through. Wonder why he don’t just…" The healer saw something flicker in the tracker’s eyes and his own widened as a new thought occurred to him. "He has been sickly at some point, ain’t he? That’s why…"

"Reckon Ez takes right good care of himself," was the noncommittal reply. "Man knows how far he can push his own self, and if he’s smart he don’t push no further—or let nobody else do it, neither."

There had been a tinge of accusation in that last statement and a shudder ran through Nathan where no one could see it, through the part of him that was a healer first and felt responsible for his friends’ well being. It had been right under his nose for almost three years and he had ignored it. He had told anyone who would listen on numerous occasions that the gambler just didn’t like to work, that he was as lazy as they come, only to realize now that maybe, just maybe Ezra wasn’t lazy, Ezra was careful. Not allowing himself to get either chilled or overheated, not working himself too hard or too long; it was the practice of a man who’s been sick before and doesn’t want to repeat the experience. And once he thought about it, Nathan realized that the other men knew what was going on and had been helping the Southerner pace himself—he hadn’t been alone on the roof of the house since that first day, at least one of the others always working beside him or stopping by to entice him down for a rest. They all knew.

And they hadn’t told Nathan, the town’s only healer. It didn’t make sense.

"Why didn’t you say somethin’?" he asked Vin quietly. "Why didn’t one of you tell me? Did Ezra tell you not to?"

The tracker shrugged. "He didn’t have to. I suggested once a long time ago that you might be able to help, but he pointed out to me that you probably wouldn’t believe him anyway and if you did you would more than likely try to kill him once it sank in where he must’ve got it. And I figured he was right, so I left it alone. We’ve all been keepin’ an eye on him; Josiah knows about them swamp fevers, he told us what to look for."

"Swamp fever…" It was even worse than the healer had thought; the only people who have to worry about swamp fever coming back on them are the ones who’ve had it so bad they almost died. Something else occurred to him. You would more than likely… "I guess he got it during the War, didn’t he?"

"He got honorably discharged because of it," Chris confirmed, taking a seat next to Vin. He gave the startled healer a thoughtful look; Nathan had been asking a lot of questions about their resident gambler lately - asking everyone except the man himself, of course. "What’s on your mind, Jackson?"

"I’ve gone out of my way to make extra work for him, more than once," Nathan said slowly. "Tickled me to death to see him sweat, to see him pantin’ in the heat…to see him so worn out he was staggerin’. Told myself it was for his own good." The healer sighed, wrapping his fingers around his glass and staring at the wet ring it had made on the scarred tabletop. "I could have killed him, a dozen times over…and I thought it was the best joke ever."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Finally Chris cleared his throat. "You didn’t know, Nathan…"

"I should have known." Dark brown eyes lifted to meet turquoise blue, full of shame. "I’m a healer, Chris; if I seen that kind of behavior from anyone else, I’d have thought about it an’ maybe asked some questions—hell, if it’d been anyone else, they would have been able to tell me flat out, maybe ask for my help." …And I figured he was right… "But I managed to let men who ride beside me every day know that this healer can’t be trusted to do the right thing if it’s a Southerner’s life on the line."

"Not any Southerner," Vin corrected quietly. "Just Ezra. Ain’t never got the feeling you have a problem with me—but then, I don’t sound like I just stepped outta the big house to order my darkies around, neither."

Chris choked on that one and Nathan’s jaw dropped; it hadn’t been said maliciously, just the flat, laconic way Vin said almost everything…no, what shocked him was that it rang true. And the gambler wasn’t the only person in town with one of those damning accents; was it true about Juliet too? He had to admit to himself that it could be; the little woman no more acted like a typical Southern belle than Ezra did a typical Southern gambler, but the honeyed drawl was there no matter how faint and it might have prejudiced him against her. The healer frowned, going over what he knew about Ezra’s fiancée in light of this new idea…and realized with a start that, divorced from the taint of her heritage and her association with the gambler, Juliet was a person he otherwise might have respected, perhaps even admired. He began to wonder uneasily if the same might be said for Ezra…

"Aw, you boys did it again." Buck’s amused drawl startled him out of his thoughts. "Lately every time I see Nate one of you has said somethin’ to him that sets him off thinkin’ all hard like he ain’t never done it before."

Vin chuckled and Chris just grinned and shook his head. "Patrol go okay?"

"Everything’s quiet," the ladies’ man confirmed, dropping into a chair and snagging the bottle that sat on the table. "JD’s over at the jail and Josiah’s…um, sortin’ out the schedule."

"He done figured it out, Buck," Vin informed him. "You can just come right out and say it."

The ladies’ man grinned and slapped a startled Nathan on the back. "Wondered when ya would—ain’t like ya haven’t been watchin’ him enough lately. Josiah said if we all pitch in tomorrow mornin’ we’ll have that roof done."

Chris leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long legs under the table. "We can do that; give me a chance to..."

"Check the stovepipe, we know." Buck got comfortable too. "Judge get off okay?"

"Thank God yes," was Larabee’s heartfelt reply. The black-clad gunslinger sighed and shook his head. "I sure do hate it when he’s in town with nothin’ to do - he’s as nosy as an old woman and he makes everyone skittish as hell."

"Not to mention you can’t go over to see Miz Travis all the time with him there," Vin teased. "Went straight over after the stage left, didn’t ya?"

Chris growled at him good-naturedly but didn’t deny it. A tall man entered the saloon just then, taking off his hat and running a hand through short brown hair while he looked around the room; his pale blue eyes met Buck’s darker ones at the same time, recognition catching like flint on tinder. "Buck?"

"Charlie?" Buck looked astounded and then broke into a broad grin. "You son of a gun, what are you doin’ around these parts? You’re a long ways from home!"

"And you’re a long way from the last place I saw you," Charlie countered. He sauntered over to the table and slapped Buck on the back. "Damn good to see you again, Buck!"

"Boys, this is Charlie Corielle," Buck told his friends. "He’s the foreman over to the Skull Valley Ranch down in Arizona Territory, ‘bout two or three days’ ride from here. Charlie, you remember me tellin’ you about Chris, right? And these other two are Vin and Nathan; we’re some of the law around here."

Charlie nodded. "Pleasure to meet you all, I’m sure. I rode in with Jesse just a little while ago," he answered Buck’s earlier question as he sat down on the chair his friend kicked out for him. "Say, if you all are the law then you must know Ezra Standish, right?"

"Yeah, he’s one of us," Chris replied suspiciously. Then his expression cleared. "Wait, you rode in with Jesse McLaughlin? Jim West’s friend?" At Charlie’s nod - he was the one to be suspicious now - Chris laughed. "Well, all I can say is it’s a small world, boys; Jesse is Miss Julie’s older brother."

Everyone relaxed except Nathan, who frowned. Charlie saw the grimace and cocked a questioning eyebrow at Buck, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then Buck’s expression changed and he sat slowly upright in his chair. "Wait just a minute…Charlie, that mean you’re from the same place they are?"

The other man started slightly. "You know about that?" he asked cautiously. "Yeah, I’m from…the same place. We’ve been here going on six years now." Charlie read acceptance on three faces and suspicion on the fourth; he wasn’t the kind of man to let that slide. "You got a problem with that?" he asked the frowning black man.

Nathan thought about it. "Yeah, kind of," he replied slowly.

Charlie nodded. "Least you’re honest," he said. He appropriated Buck’s glass and took a drink. "That’s why we came to Four Corners, actually, to make sure it was safe for Juliet to stay here. Jim said it was okay, but Jess and Artemus were both nervous about a couple things and Jess is kind of overprotective when it comes to his family..."

"He ain’t her brother," the healer protested softly. "And Agent Gordon ain’t her uncle."

The other men froze, but to their surprise Charlie relaxed in his chair with a wry grin. "I wouldn’t try to tell them that if I were you," he chuckled.

"Don’t think anyone plans to," Chris answered, shooting an irritated look at the Nathan. "So how’d you meet Buck, Charlie?"

Charlie and Buck looked at each other and exchanged almost identical smirks. "Sharin’," they both said at the same time. "It was just a couple weeks before I came to Four Corners," Buck filled in. "I was ridin’ through town and ol’ Charlie here was in for some supplies, and we run into a situation at the local saloon while we was both tryin’ to get someone to keep us company for the night—seems they just didn’t have enough ladies on hand to supply the demand."

"Poor girl that was left didn’t want to disappoint either of us," Charlie continued. "So she asked if we’d mind sharing and we both said no."

"It was either that or sleep in the barn; it was a cold night," Buck explained, a little too quickly.

"Kinda expected you to say somethin’ like that," Vin drawled, a wicked twinkle in his eye; Chris chuckled into his whiskey when both Charlie and Buck blushed and even Nathan was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Figured it would either be that or you sayin’ you was both drunk."

The two men looked at each other, and then Charlie broke into a grin and winked at Vin. "Well, I know I was."

Buck flushed even redder but made a show of looking his friend up and down. "Shit, I must have been."

JD came in while they were all still laughing and looked at the blushing ladies’ man curiously but didn’t comment. "Hey, there’s this chestnut stallion down at the livery…"

Charlie sobered at once and straightened in his chair. "He’s mine." He took in the badge. "There a problem, Sheriff?"

"He’s yours? Oh no, there’s no problem; you just don’t often see a horse like that around these parts." JD plopped into the nearest available chair and tipped back his hat. "He’s magnificent."

Charlie puffed up with pride and Buck groaned. "Oh lord, here we go," he muttered. "JD, this here is my friend," Vin snickered and the ladies’ man shot him a dirty look, "Charlie Corielle, and he happens to be just as horse-obsessed as you and Ez are."

"JD Dunne," the younger man introduced himself. "If you don’t mind my askin’, Mr. Corielle, what’s his bloodline?"

Charlie shrugged. "It’s just Charlie, and I have no idea. He belonged to the outlaw that killed Jesse’s family and kidnapped his wife; Zombie was…well, he was in pretty bad shape when we found him but Jess fixed him up good as new and gave him to me. Whatever he is he breeds true, though; I make a pretty penny putting him up for stud, let me tell you."

Chris’ eyes narrowed slightly; this was a part of the story West hadn’t shared with him. "Killed his family and kidnapped his wife? Does this kind of luck just follow you people here?"

"You people…" JD’s eyes widened. "You mean you’re from…Denver?"

"Denver? No, I’m from Sacramento…" Charlie suddenly remembered what West and Gordon had said about the rift and nodded slowly. "Forgot you boys had seen…Denver, sorry. Yeah, Sheriff, sort of; even with the fifteen-year difference it would probably look about the same to you."

"How is it you claim to’ve been here six years but she’s from fifteen years after you?" Nathan spoke up.

Charlie gave him a funny look and Buck snorted. "Don’t mind him, Charlie; he wasn’t there and it ain’t half the kind of thing you can explain to a person without soundin’ like you’re plumb crazy. What did you all do with the outlaw?"

"Jesse blew his head off," the other man answered simply; he decided it wouldn’t be worth it trying to explain the logistics involved in trying to kill a dead man. "Bastard had already killed Gramps and tried to hang me and Maya—and he shot Jess twice."

"Who was he?" Chris wanted to know. "Was it some sort of feud?"

"Sort of," was the answer. "He’d been Gramps’ partner from way back, they had a falling out over…what belonged to who down in Mexico that ended with Slim getting left behind, and he apparently wasn’t one to let that kind of thing go. Slim Rieser, that was his name."

The crash of a chair hitting the floor startled them all. Old Bertram Day appeared to be the one responsible for the disruption, but his eyes were glued to Charlie. "Somethin’ wrong, Bert?" Vin asked, worried; the old man looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Charlie took one look and knew that he had. "I’m guessing you’ve been out to the ghost town some time back, haven’t you?" he observed quietly. "Ran into Slim out there, huh?"

"I seen him." Day left his overturned chair and hobbled over to stare down at Charlie. "You said this Jesse of your’n kilt him? You sure?"

"I’m sure," the younger man answered gravely. "Jess told me it took four shells before the bastard quit getting up, and then…well, and then the house burned. Or rather the saloon did, same difference."

"I seen the house," the old man told him in a low voice. "Seen it through the window of that old saloon. Burned with him on the other side, the house side?" At Charlie’s nod he appeared to relax. "Good riddance to him, then - ‘mind me to buy your friend Jesse a drink sometime. Gonna be in town a while?"

"Just a couple days, this time," Charlie informed him. "We rode in so he could see his little sister before the wedding, he just found out she was here."

"Brother to little Miz Julie, is he?" Day’s lined face lit up. "I’d say that’s right; always knew that girl come from good stock. Reminds me of my mother, she does." He stuck out one gnarled hand which Charlie shook gravely and gave a nod to the other men before hobbling out of the saloon.

"That was Bertram Day," Chris informed Charlie. "He’s been around these parts since before there was a town here."

"And he don’t rattle easy," Vin said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. "That Reiser fella must’ve been bad news."

"He was." Charlie decided to change the subject - he did not want to think about Slim Reiser, much less talk about him. "So how long have you been hanging around here, Buck? You were just kind of driftin’ when I last saw you."

"Been peacekeepin’ here durn near three years, me and the rest of the boys," the ladies’ man answered. "I’m afraid I’ve gotten plumb settled in."

"Reckon we all have," Vin added with a lazy grin, sipping his whiskey. "Ain’t somethin’ anybody expected."

"Just like no one expected Ez to be the one to be gettin’ married first," was Chris’ wry comment. "Damned if he didn’t find the perfect woman, too - those two are a matched set if I ever saw one."

There was a murmur of agreement from the other peacekeepers but Nathan muttered something that sounded like ‘that ain’t all good’ and Charlie’s eyes narrowed. "Mr. Jackson, I think you’d better cough up whatever it is that’s stuck in your craw before it chokes you," he said evenly but without humor. "And you’d better do it before Jesse comes in here, because if it’s anything like what I think then you for damn sure don’t want to bring it up with him."

Nathan was taken aback. "I didn’t really mean nothin’ by it, I was jus’ thinkin’ out loud."

"Bad habit, that," Charlie observed quietly. "Dangerous, even."

"So I’ve been told." The healer flicked a glance at his friends. "Been tryin’ to do somethin’ about that…"

"Ain’t tryin’ hard enough, I think," Chris told him. "You know, Jackson, every time I think we’re gettin’ this problem of yours licked you go and prove me wrong. I’m startin’ to think Gordon was right about you bein’ one of those people that has to learn the hard way."

That surprised Nathan, but before he could say anything else Charlie tuned slightly and looked over toward the doors. "Here’s our chance to find out," he said, then raised one arm and called out, "Jess! Over here!"

The man who had just stepped through the doors turned, smiled and headed in their direction. He was on the short side and compactly built with longish light brown hair and an easygoing smile. That and his pronounced limp might have fooled a casual observer into thinking him harmless, but the tied-down gun at his side and the flicker of watchfulness in his brown eyes as he scanned the saloon before coming toward them said otherwise. "Damn, are you sure he’s Miss Julie’s brother and not Ezra’s?" Buck exclaimed softly. "Him and Ez and Jim West look like three peas out of the same pod."

"Noticed that myself," Charlie chuckled. He pulled out a chair for his best friend and grinned at him. "Jess, you remember me telling you about meeting Buck in town a few years back? Well, this is Buck."

"Nice to finally meet you, Buck," Jesse said, shaking hands with the mustached cowboy before sitting down. "Heard an awful lot about you from Charlie."

"We can just imagine," Vin commented, drawing a blush from the ladies’ man. "I’m Vin, and this here’s Chris, JD and Nathan. Guess you already met Ez, huh?"

"Yep, he had a patrol to run and my sister had to get back to work so I headed on over here," Jesse answered. "Pleasure to meet all of you. I’m Jesse, but I’m guessing you already knew that. So is everything okay, Charlie?"

"Pretty much like we expected," his friend said with a shrug - they had known about Nathan before they arrived, his behavior had only confirmed what Gordon had already told them. "How ‘bout you?"

"I miss Maya," Jesse told him ruefully. "Those two are so much in love that it hurts. We do appear to have one serious problem, though."

Charlie leaned forward with a troubled frown - which was mirrored by the other men at the table. "What happened after I left, Jess?"

"We all talked," was the answer. "I didn’t think there was going to be any problem at all until I happened to ask Ezra if his family was coming to the wedding and Juliet just about had kittens trying to change the subject. Somehow she’d gotten the impression that no one would talk about it because they didn’t want to come right out and tell her she wasn’t good enough for Ezra’s family." Jesse raised his voice to cut through the little storm of disbelief and denial that comment produced. "Luckily Ezra was able to clear up the misunderstanding and he explained to us about his mother. Now what I want to know is this; what do you all plan to do to protect my sister from Maude Standish?"

There were a few startled gasps - and not all of them from the men at the table. Chris shot a quick look around the saloon. "Ez told me he was worried," the gunslinger said. "But as long as his mother don’t know he’s getting married we shouldn’t have any problems."

"As long as she doesn’t find out," Jesse corrected. "But eventually she’s going to and then it’s going to hit the fan. Do any of you know what exactly it was she tried to do to him the last time he got married?"

Everyone looked at Chris, who shook his head. "He wouldn’t tell me, but he got this look on his face…I know it must have been bad. What did he tell you?"

Jesse sighed. "He showed Juliet and I the letter his father-in-law sent, he said the man knows his mother all too well. The judge thought he should tell you boys everything so you could protect he and Juliet, but Ezra says you all are vulnerable to her in ways the old man wasn’t and he doesn’t want to endanger any of you again."

"Wait a minute, I’m gettin’ confused here," Buck interjected. "Are we talkin’ about Ezra’s first wife’s daddy or about Judge Travis?"

"And what do you mean, ‘again’?" Nathan added suspiciously.

"Back down, Jackson," Vin said sharply. "Didn’t have nothin’ to do with you so it ain’t none of your business." He waited until he was certain the healer was going to subside and then returned his attention to Jesse. "Ez told you about what she did? Did he tell you all of it?"

Jesse shook his head. "He just said it happened when he’d let it be known he was planning to stay here indefinitely - and I don’t know about any Judge Travis, Buck, Ezra’s father-in-law is a Judge Calloway."

He might as well have set a stick of dynamite in the center of the table, judging by the reactions the name produced; Chris fended off the accusing looks he was getting with upraised hands. "I didn’t know myself until just over a week ago, simmer down," he said. Seeing Jesse and Charlie’s mystification he grinned. "Judge Calloway was a real important man in Virginia, let’s just leave it at that."

"And he wouldn’t have let just any man marry his daughter, either," Buck added, recovering himself. "God damn, you think Gordon and West knew about this, Chris?"

"Certain of it," the gunslinger replied with a very smug smile. "Jim said they’d checked us all out before they came here, and Gordon was all for his niece’s marriage before he even met Ezra."

"He told us Juliet couldn’t have found a better husband," Jesse confirmed with a smile of his own, which just as quickly disappeared. "Now we just need to figure out what to do about the mother-in-law that comes with him."

"Well hell, if Ez can’t figure it out I don’t see how any of us are goin’ to," Buck said with conviction. "That woman’s as slippery as a damn snake."

"An’ every bit as poisonous," Vin concurred. "How’d she find out about his saloon anyways, does anybody know?"

"He writes to her all the time…" JD offered.

"Yeah, but he wouldn’t have told her about buyin’ the saloon until it was a done deal," Buck disagreed. "And that plan of hers that cleared us all out of her way didn’t happen overnight; takes time to set up a thing like that if you expect it to work."

Chris nodded grimly. "Which means Ezra ain’t the only one around here who writes Miss Maude."

Josiah, who had just come in, cleared his throat. "I’m afraid that was me, brothers," he admitted, startling them all. He pulled up a chair beside Nathan and folded his large hands on the table. Yep, a man’s sins always seek him out. "You all know I was somewhat enamored of Miss Maude…"

"Yeah, we’d kind of gathered that," Buck commented dryly. "So you been spyin’ on Ezra for her all this time?"

"No! No, when she first came to visit him, before she left she took me aside and asked if I would send her a letter now and then and maybe let her know how her baby boy was doin’," Josiah told them. "Didn’t have no reason to think anything was amiss, just a mother worryin’ about her only son, so I told her I’d be happy to. And then…"

"And then she damn near got me killed, Buck here married and took everything Ez had," Vin ground out. Nathan sat bolt upright in his chair, but the tracker ignored him. "You realize he almost left town ‘cause of that, Preacher? Blamed himself for the whole mess, slunk around like a kicked dog for weeks even after I talked him into stayin’…and you could have put a stop to it any time just by tellin’ him you made a stupid mistake?"

The big man fidgeted and looked away. "Ain’t written to her since."

"Well, that’s something, anyway," Chris said, cutting Vin off before he could say anything else; they had enough to deal with right now without stirring up problems long since set aside. "Means her leak’s been plugged, that’s one less thing for us to worry about. Does anyone know where she is right now?"

"Ezra said her last letter came from San Francisco," Jesse answered. "But she was on the move when she sent it and he has no idea where she is right now."

"Which mean’s the snake’s in the grass where we won’t see it ‘till someone steps on it," Buck observed unhappily.

Chris started to say something…and then he saw Jesse glance around the saloon again with a strangely satisfied expression on his face. Looking around himself, he noticed that the room was abuzz with conversation and from the furtive looks being cast at their table those conversations were more than likely about them. He raised an eyebrow at the rancher. "Grass fire?"

Jesse nodded. "Burn the grass, the snake has nowhere to hide," he confirmed quietly but with a conspiratorial wink. "I don’t usually talk so loud when I’m discussing family business, you know."

For a moment everyone just stared, and a few of the men looked around the saloon in wonderment. Then Buck started to chuckle and smiles broke out all around the table. "Oh, I think we can overlook it this time," the ladies’ man said, slapping the smaller man on the back. "You were protectin' one of your own, after all - and we’re all family too."