Epilog

HIGH CHAPARRAL RANCH, ARIZONA, 15 JUNE 1874

"You sure you can't stay just a few more days?" John Cannon asked as he watched Lucas tighten the cinch on his huge black horse (whose name, he had learned, was Razor).  "We'd be glad to have you."

"Well, I'm mighty tempted, " Lucas admitted as he yanked the cinch tight one last time, "but we've overstayed our welcome already.  We still have a horse to deliver to your father-in-law's ranch in Sonora, and we need to get back to North Fork.  I have forty-one hundred acres myself that need tending.  It's a long ride back to New Mexico."

Behind them, Buck and Manolito lounged on the front porch with the other hands, drinking coffee and watching the early morning sun rise in the east.  At the far end of the porch, Blue stood with his right arm in a sling as he teased young Mark McCain, telling him jokes that made the young boy giggle and occasionally howl with laughter.  Victoria stepped out onto the porch, resplendently dressed, and walked over to fuss over Mark McCain.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did, McCain," John said.  "You saved just about everything I have that has any value to me."

Lucas moved to slide his rifle into the saddle scabbard, then checked his bedroll ties before responding.

"I think we're pretty even all around, Mr. Cannon," Lucas said at last.  "You and your family certainly saved the only thing in my life that has value to me.  I'm the one who's grateful.  You saved my son from the Apache, and your brother saved him from Sod Chambers."

"I would have saved any boy from the Apache," John replied.  "I'm just glad some good came out of all this tragedy.  Gun-running has been stopped, at least temporarily, and Tom Jeffords rode in last night to tell me that Taza's warriors have driven the renegades under Pionsenay into Mexico, and they'll guard the border to keep them there.  That means when the Mexican army chases them north again, they'll have nowhere to run.  For the moment, at least, the Army is happy with Taza.  He's continuing to keep Cochise's word by keeping his band at peace.  You have your son back, he has his father again, and my family is safe and sound.  In some ways, it's like a whole new world, McCain."

"I suppose it is," Lucas admitted.  "Then again, I guess in some ways it's still the same old world, as well.  It takes all kinds of people to make a world, Mr. Cannon.  I keep relearning that."  Lucas grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that mess I left in your living room."

John laughed and slapped Lucas on the shoulder.

"Well, it was certainly a mess," he said, enjoying his first real laugh in days.  "But considering the alternative, I'm glad you made it.  So, you're still heading to Don Sebastian's ranch?"

"Well, I still have that horse to deliver," Lucas replied.  "That's the whole reason we came to Arizona.  I intend to be waiting there to give to Xavier when Mr. Montoya comes riding in from this side of the border."

"Should be in about three days," John said.  "I've sent word to his ranch.  They'll be expecting you.  Oh, and we wired that marshal friend of yours in North Fork, and let him know you were okay.  He seemed relieved, to say the least."

"That sounds like Micah," Lucas admitted.  "I'm much obliged, Mr. Cannon."

"I've told you, call me John."

"Gladly, but only if you call me Lucas."

"Done."

They grinned as they shook hands.

* * *

"It's going to be kind of quiet without you around here," Billy Blue Cannon told Mark McCain as they sat on a hitching rail.  "I'm going to miss you."

"It's sure been swell being here," Mark replied.  "I'm going to miss all of you as well."

Victoria stared at them as they conversed in low tones, her own eyes threatening to spill tears.  She was thrilled that the child finally had his father back, but she also felt a great yawning emptiness that threatened to engulf her.  It would indeed be different not to have the small boy around.  She approached Mark and handed him a small waxed paper sack.

"I will miss you as well," she told him honestly, trying to smile.  Victoria knelt and touched the boy's hair, admiring its fineness.  "I am so happy for you, and so grateful to your father.  I know that you must go now to your home, but I want you to know how special it was to have you stay with us.  And that I shall miss you dearly."

"Gosh, Mrs. Cannon, I'll miss you, too," Mark replied, his big brown cow eyes staring at her with an almost innocent wonder.  "Why, being here with you and Blue and Mr. Cannon, it seemed…well, I've never had a brother, and that's how Blue seems.  And knowing you, it…well…it's the closest thing I've had to a mother since Ma passed on.  I kind of got to liking it.  I'll sure miss you, too."

Victoria felt her heart breaking, but she determined not to let a tear slide down her cheek.  The boy's words about his mother touched something deep inside her, and she took him in her arms and hugged him tightly, then stepped away quickly, realizing she had failed.  Twin drops of salty water began to leak from her eyes, and she stepped back into the shade where the boy would not notice and become upset.

"What's this?" Mark asked, looking at the sack.

"Something to take with you on your ride," Victoria replied.

"Gee, thanks."  He opened the sack.  "What are these square things?"

"Soapapillas," Blue answered, looking in the sack as the warm smell of the pastry wafted over him.  "Sort of a Mexican biscuit.  You'll like them."

"There is also honey inside as well," Victoria added.  "It is best if you put some honey on the soapapillas first."

"Golly.  I don't know what to say."

"Say you will come back to visit," Victoria told him.

"You betcha I will," Mark replied happily.  Suddenly, the tears flowed freely as Victoria took him once more and fiercely hugged the small boy who had come through so much, and who had come to mean so much to her.

* * *

Mark was saddled on Blueboy when Lucas unhitched Razor and took the reins of the dun.  He turned a moment to stare at the people of the High Chaparral.  John, Victoria, Manolito, and all of the ranch hands, who stood together on the porch as a large family to watch him ride off into the morning sun.

Beside the windmill, Buck Cannon stood alone, fiddling with some tack as he watched the pair prepare for their departure.

"Have a good trip, Lucas," John said.  "Come back anytime.  You're always welcome on the High Chaparral."

"Thanks, John.  I will.  Fact is, I like this part of the country.  It's a bit dry, but this is a fine spread you have here, and you're all mighty fine folks."

Lucas hooked a foot in the stirrup and stepped into the saddle.  He was starting to pull the reins around when a voice stopped him flat.

"Wait just a dog-gone minute, Sharpshooter."

Lucas paused, turning the horse to face Buck Cannon, who stood alone and in the open, his hands by his sides, his face deadly serious.

"We ain't through yet, McCain," Buck said tensely.  "There's still somethin' we got to settle."

"Buck, what are you doing?" John growled, stepping forward.

"Stay outta this, Big John," Buck warned.  "This is between him an' me."

"Have you gone loco?"

"Maybe, but it's something he and I got to settle."

Lucas's eyes narrowed at Buck's tone.  Sighing, he pulled the Winchester from its scabbard and stepped from his horse, slowly turning to face Buck.  The others watched in stunned silence, not believing this was happening.

"I don't want to fight with you, Buck," Lucas said.  "I owe you too much."

"Ah know that," Buck replied.  "And I owe you, too.  That's exactly why we have to settle this."

Lucas stared at Buck, whose black clothes made him seem sinister in the early morning light.  He held the rifle loosely, watching Buck slowly approach.

"What's it going to be?" he asked.

"Just one thing.  One thing I owe you to make us even."

Buck stepped forward and pulled off his glove, then extended his right hand.

"Ah done some thinkin' Lucas," Buck said earnestly.  "A man what saved most of my family fo' me, not to mention my own sorry hide, and a man what raised a fine boy like that there, well….I reckon he just cain't be a very bad man.  I been doin' some thinkin' that maybe you're right.  A man best leave bad things in his past.  You done me a wrong once, but you done me a whole lot of right since.  And I ain't treated you right for it, neither.  

"Ah'm sorry, Lucas.  You was right.  Them days was back in the war.  We all done things we wouldn't have done if it weren't for the war.  Best a man gets over it and moves on.  I think even Billy Younger could agree to that, was he here with us.  Ah'm willin' to try, Lucas."

Lucas shook Buck's hand firmly and smiled.

"That's all anyone can ask, Buck.  I'd like that.  It takes a big man to admit it and grow beyond it.  I'm glad we can start over.  A man needs all the friends he can get, and you're the kind of man to ride the river with."

Lucas turned to look at John, who was standing, bareheaded, staring at the two of them in complete confusion.

"You have a fine brother here, John," Lucas said.  He turned back to Buck.  "I'll always be in your debt, Buck.  For saving my son."

Buck blushed and looked at the sand, rubbing his face in embarrassment.  Wordless for once, he merely nodded with a crooked grin and stepped away to stand beside Manolito as Lucas remounted his horse.

"Thank you all again for your hospitality," Lucas told them.

"Our pleasure," John replied, placing his arm around Victoria.  "Have a good trip and stay safe.  We'll be looking forward to seeing you on the High Chaparral again.  Wire us when you get back to North Fork."

"We will," Lucas replied, and he touched his hat.  "Adios."

Lucas turned and moved the horse away at a slow canter as the various ranch hands called out their farewells from the porch.  Mark pulled up beside him a moment later, and as they rode abreast through the tall gate of the High Chaparral, Mark turned around to wave once more, and grinned broadly as every person on the porch waved back.

"Boy, the Cannons sure are fine people," Mark said after a moment.

Lucas' eyes twinkled as he looked at his son.

"Yes, they sure are, son."

"Pa, what was all that between you and Mr. Buck just now?"

Lucas rode on in silence for a moment, then stopped his horse to look at his boy, considering how best to reply.

"Well, son, a man does a lot of things in his life.  Some of them, well, they hurt a lot of other people, and some of them come back later to haunt him, when he's older.  Buck and I met once during the war in Virginia, and we both did some things we later regretted.  That's the horror of war, son.  Men do things they later regret for the rest of their lives.  They are things that often have to be done, but that doesn't make living with them any easier when you get on in years and have a chance to think and reflect back on it all."

"You knew Mr. Buck in the war?"

"Well, yes and no, son," Lucas replied.  "He certainly remembered me, but I didn't know him.  I was in the Union army, and Buck fought for the Confederacy.  We were at several of the same battles at the same time."

"Did you and Mr. Buck ever shoot at each other, Pa?"

"You might say that, son.  I didn't hit him, thank goodness, and fortunately, he never hit me, but we certainly shot at each other's positions.  I did hit one of his friends, though, and poor old Buck has had a long and painful time coming to grips with it.  As well he should.  A man doesn't make a lot of good friends in this life, and when he loses one, well, it hurts a long time.  Sometimes for the rest of your life.  When you get a little older, you'll come to see things are never quite as simple as they seem.  That's the sign of growing into manhood, son.  There were good men on both sides of the war, Yankee and Rebel alike.  There were bad men like Sod Chambers, as well.  They were all different."

"That's just what Coyani told me about Apaches," Mark replied.  "It's funny you should mention the war, Pa."

"Why's that, son?"

"Because when I was sitting in the Apache camp, I was trying to remember the verses of Sheridan's Ride that you taught me.  And I got to thinking about the time General Sheridan came to visit us and camped on our front yard."

Lucas nudged his horse forward again and lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh, and I was remembering poor old Mr. Blandon and his shattered shoulder."

"Why, son?"

"Well, I was remembering how easily it could have been you that come out of the war wounded, instead of Mr. Blandon.  And just now, when Mr. Buck talked to you in the yard, it made me think of old Mr. Blandon again, and what General Sheridan said about him.   About how, even though Blandon had been his enemy, he had really admired all of those Confederate soldiers who fought against him.  About how Blandon was like Johnny Reb himself, and how he should be proud that he had stood and fought so well."

"You remembered all of that?" Lucas asked.  "Why?"

"Because when Mr. Buck jumped in there to save me from Sod Chambers, his accent reminded me of Mr. Blandon a little," Mark explained.  "But when he stood up and fought, when he stood between Chambers and me, just to save a boy he didn't even know, well, I kind of understood what General Sheridan was saying, Pa.  I saw that Rebel soldier that General Sheridan admired so much.  I saw Johnny Reb himself, the best of the losing side.  Mr. Buck is like that, Pa.  He's one of the good men from the losing side.  Like you said, there were good men on both sides, and Mr. Buck is one of them."

Lucas looked at his son in surprise, considering that a moment.

"You really saw all of that when you looked at Buck Cannon?"

"I sure did."

"Seems you're growing up a whole lot faster than I expected, son," Lucas told him.

Mark grinned at the greatest man in his life.  Together, they turned south and headed out across the desert.

* * *

John, Victoria, Buck, Manolito and Blue stood with the ranch hands as they watched the McCains ride off into the morning.  They waved as Mark paused at the gate to look back before riding on.  The rest of the hands sat around on the porch in various poses, looking a little crestfallen now that the guests had left.

"There goes some fine people," John said at last.

"I will miss them," Victoria added softly.

"Me, too.  Well, at least things ought to be getting back to normal around here now."

"Ah sure hope so, Big John" Buck said.

"What was that all about, Buck?  I thought you were going to have a gun fight with one of our house guests," John sighed.  "You care to explain what you and McCain were talking about?"

Buck looked at John a moment and readjusted his hat as he walked to where his own horse stood saddled at the rail.  John glowered at him.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"Well, Big John, I was thinkin' I'd head into Tucson for a spell and maybe get me a drink.  What with all the goin's on around heah lately I've got me a powerful dry built up."

"Did you finish that job in the east range?" John asked sternly.  "Did you get those bulls castrated?"

Behind him, Manolito suddenly stood and started to walk away.

"Where you going, Mano?" Sam asked.

"To the bunkhouse," Manolito replied quickly.  "It is not safe to be around when the Cannons start discussing the castration of cattle.  Somehow it always leads to my involvement."  

Manolito walked quickly across the yard and disappeared into the bunkhouse.

"No, Ah didn't," Buck stammered, his brown eyes narrowing.  "Mano and I got all caught up with McCain and them A-Pach.  We couldn't get 'em all done."

"Oh, you couldn't could you?"

"No," Buck snapped.  "Besides, there was this longhorn bull that—"

"So, once again you left the job half done," John thundered, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, maybe you'd rather get yo' cattle cut than see that boy saved," Buck growled right back.

"That's not what I said," John grumbled defensively.  "And you know it."

"Then just what in the blazes be you sayin,' Big John?"

"Just that once again, when there's important work to be done, you leave it undone so you can ride off into town and drink," John replied.  "When are you going to take a little responsibility, Buck?"

"Well, looks like things really are back to normal, all right," Sam commented dryly to Joe as they stood watching on the porch.  John and Buck pointedly ignored him.

"Let me tell you somethin,' Big John," Buck snapped.  "Ah done got me a bellyful of cutting cattle for a while.  Ah been shot, beat up, out riding by my lonesome without even a fire, and had me a fight with A-Pach.  I also been charged by a longhorn and throwed in a cactus patch.  Ah'm tired, Big John.  Tired an' sore and mad.  Yo' problem is that you don't know how to have fun any more.  You cain't relax and just be yo'self.  Now, maybe I ain't as responsible as you are, but at least I know what's really important.  And it ain't just doin' work!"

Buck turned and climbed into the saddle before continuing.  "And if you was half the brother you was supposed to be, you'd know that.  Now, Ah'm going into Tucson to get me a drink.  You kind sit heah and stew all you want, Big John, but Ah'm goin'."

Buck turned his horse and slowly began to ride toward the gate.  John watched him go, his blue eyes seething.  Behind him, Victoria and Blue looked at each other in silence.

"You know, Pa, having that Mark kid around here was kind of nice," Blue said.

John kept his scowl fixed on Buck's back as he rode away.

"What?"

"Mark," Blue replied.  "I said it was kind of nice having a little brother around.  I kind of liked it."

"What the devil are you talking about, boy?"

"Oh, nothing," Blue said, and he turned to step into the house, winking at Victoria as he walked past her.  "I'd just kind of like to have a little brother, or maybe a sister, that's all."

Victoria tried not to smile as Blue walked past her.

"Yes, John" she said softly.  "I think Blue is correct."

"What?"

"Yes, perhaps it is time there were some children on this ranch," she replied coyly, doing her best not to giggle at the stunned expression on her husband's face.  "I think it is something we should discuss, no?"

John stare at her wordlessly as she lowered her eyes demurely and turned to enter the house.

"I will be upstairs should you care to discuss it," she added, and entered the doorway.

John felt the eyes of his men upon him as they watched in silence, and his face started to redden.  He knew he should rush into the house and tell Victoria to forget all about it.  He was at no age to be fathering young children.  He would be over seventy before they were grown, for goodness sake!  But John knew that in his heart he could deny Victoria nothing.  If she wanted children, she would likely get them.  She always got what she wanted, in the end.

Yet, to tease him in front of the men, to make such obvious suggestions, and then brazenly walk off into the bedroom, that was just totally inappropriate!  How dare she?  If he set a foot in his house now, all of his men would know exactly why he was going in.  That would not do at all.  He was the boss.  Victoria had backed him into a corner in front of his hands, and he could not let her win this one!

"John, are you coming?" Victoria said seductively from somewhere inside the house.

John turned to stare at Buck as he went out the gate.

"Buck, you hold up right now!"

Buck paused at the gate and turned to stare at his older brother, leaning on his pommel as he waited for John to continue his tirade.

"What you want now, big brother?"

"Just one thing," John said, putting his hat on his head as he pulled the reins of his own horse from the hitching post.  "If you're going to go riding off into town, acting totally irresponsible, drinking and playing and having a good time, totally ignoring what you should be doing here at the ranch…"

"And if I am?"

"Then I'm going with you," John said, and he stepped into the saddle and galloped out to where Buck sat waiting.  Buck grinned and they turned their horses and rode through the gate, headed for Tucson.  The hands on the porch immediately burst into laughter.

From behind the shuttered door of the living room, Victoria grinned as she watched.  Her husband was so predictable, she thought happily, but Buck was right.  He did need to relax a bit, to remember how to enjoy himself.  

At last, things were truly back to normal on the High Chaparral.  The plan Blue had placed so deftly in her lap had succeeded.  The Cannons were brothers again.

Smiling, she turned and stepped into the kitchen as the ranch hands of the High Chaparral stepped off the porch and went about their daily chores in the morning sun of Arizona

THE END