Morning came too soon for Ezra. After his horrible nightmare, he couldn't fall asleep. When he finally surrendered to sleep it was almost dawn and time to get up. Josiah called him three times to get up, before he had to shake Ezra awake.

"Let's go Ezra. Breakfast is on the table already."

"Okay. I'm awake."

"I'm not convinced." Josiah helped Ezra get dressed and downstairs. Josiah allowed him some coffee to wake up and eat.

Buck was having his own problems with JD. He was so afraid to go to school that he cried through getting dressed and would have cried through breakfast if Chris hadn't glared at him. Vin got up, dressed and did chores simply resigned to his fate. Nathan was actually excited about starting school again.

After breakfast, Chris sent boys to get schoolbooks while he hooked up the wagon. When Vin returned to the main room he saw Ezra headed into the study. Curious as to why, Vin followed. He watched Ezra pick up and read a letter that was on Chris' desk. Vin didn't want Ezra to get yelled at but he didn't want Ezra to know he was snooping either.

The decision was taken away from him when Josiah came up behind him. "Vin go get in the wagon please." Josiah had seen Ezra reading his letter. Vin ran outside.

"Ezra?"

"Yeah Josiah?" He folded the letter and put it back on the desk.

"I don't want you to worry about this all day. Try to have a good day in school. Okay?"

"I'll try Josiah."

"Good. Now you best get outside before Chris comes looking."

"Yes sir." Ezra headed for the wagon. Josiah sat down at the desk and picked up the letter again. //How could one piece of paper cause so much stress?// He knew the answer to that question in one word.

Chris dropped all the boys off at school. He brought JD into the classroom to get him settled for his first day, and to let the teacher know about the family's new concern.

Ezra and Vin were waiting outside for the bell. Vin knew something was bothering Ezra most of the weekend and finally decided to ask.

"Ez?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay? You been awful sad since that letter showed up."

"I'll be okay. Josiah and Chris are taking care of it."

"Who was it from? Whad it say that made you so sad?"

"Nothing for you to worry about little brother. I really don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Vin went off to play with some of the other kids and Ezra thought about the letter.

The letter had arrived in the mail on Saturday when they were all in town. Ezra was having a great day. He loved to shop and get new clothes, even if they were for school. Chris had sent him to get the mail and to grab some candy for everyone for after supper. With the opportunity to be away from everyone else for a little bit, Ezra was delighted to get the mail. He had sat down outside the mercantile to read the letter.

"EZRA!" Ezra was shaken out of his memories when Chris called him.

"What?"

"I said have a good day and try not to fret about your mother's letter. I'm gonna contact the judge and should have some kind of answer when I pick you all up this afternoon. I told Miss Jones if there were any problems, I would be in town all day. The Sheriff will know where. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Have a good day."

"Bye." Chris headed toward town and the school bell announced the beginning of a new school year.

Chris walked away from the telegraph office and headed for the Clarion to speak to Mary Travis. He was hoping she would do some research into Maude's past to find something to substantiate what they all knew; Maude was a lousy mother.

The bell rang above the door as Chris entered the main office of the Clarion. Mary Travis looked up from her desk and smiled as Chris entered. She found Chris Larabee a very handsome man. She also had hopes of someday getting him to see how much she liked him. She understood he was still mourning the loss of his wife and son and even his father. Mary knew his pain. She had lost her husband a few years ago and had almost lost her son, Billy too. Now Billy lived with the Judge and his wife and went to school in a safer town. Now that Four Corners was becoming more "civilized" Mary was planning on bringing Billy home to start school in the spring.

"Mary." Chris smiled at Mary. He knew she had feelings for him and if he was honest with himself, he was attracted to her too. He just wasn't ready for another relationship right now.

"Chris. What a pleasant surprise. What brings you to town?"

"First day of school. JD was a little nervous this morning and we had some problems over the weekend."

"Let's have some coffee and we can talk." They sat and after Mary poured two cups of coffee she said, "What kind of problems?"

"Ezra received a letter from his mother. She informed him that she had gotten married and that she was coming to fetch him."

"She can't do that. You said Josiah had custody."

"He does. When our father died, he left all custody of minor children to Josiah and that included Ezra. I need a favor Mary."

"Anything Chris."

"Could you look through your sources and see if you can find any information on Maude. She married this man in New Orleans so maybe you could get his name from another newspaper or something. Maude didn't give Ezra a name, and she specifically told him not to tell me about her coming."

"Poor Ezra. He's finally settled in with a real family and she wants to tear him away from it."

"Well, it's not going to happen. I really believe she didn't want me to know, because pa had special documents drawn up when he found Ezra. She signed over her right to ever claim Ezra."

"Do you still have the papers?"

"Not here. Pa never trusted Maude, so he had them put in a safe place. I just sent a telegraph to the Judge and tomorrow I'll go retrieve the paperwork."

"If Maude knew about the papers, why would she try to take Ezra now?"

"She probably figures pa would keep them further away and if she just showed up and convinced the Judge there was doubt, she could possibly get temporary custody."

"She wouldn't keep it though."

"It wouldn't matter at that point. She could simply disappear with Ezra, and it wouldn't matter who had the legal right. She's been able to disappear without a trace before. I won't let it happen with Ezra."

"When is she due?"

"Sometime in the next two or three weeks. I would appreciate a heads up if she shows up though. Josiah and I are contemplating keeping Ezra out of school once she does show up. I wouldn't put it past her to kidnap him at the first available moment."

"I'll check with a few people I know and get that information for you."

"Thanks Mary." Chris stood to leave. He turned back to her and asked, "Once all this is over, would you like to go to the Harvest Barn Dance with me."

"I would love to Chris."

"Great." Chris paused and Mary smiled.

"It'll all work out Chris. We'll beat her at her own game."

"Thanks Mary. I'll see you in a couple days."

"I'll let you know when I have something. Bye Chris."

Chris left the Clarion and headed over to the Sheriff's office. He spent the morning explaining to the Sheriff what was going on, and then they had lunch together. After lunch he headed to the mercantile to get the supplies they needed.

Ezra was not having a good day. The first day of school was usually pretty easy, but he couldn't concentrate on anything that was being said. Miss Jones had already spoken to him several times about "daydreaming" and he knew he was headed for trouble, but it just didn't seem to matter at this stage in his life.

What did it matter how he behaved in school if he was going to have to leave? Ezra knew Chris and Josiah would fight for him, but he had seen his mother pull off bigger scams. He considered running away, but the truth was he didn't want to leave the ranch. He didn't want to go with his mother. Was he a horrible child for disliking his mother so much? He hadn't thought his life was different until his father showed up and taught him what the real meaning of family was.

//Pa// This wouldn't be happening if his father hadn't died.

"EZRA!" Ezra snapped out of his ponderings when he heard Miss Jones yell his name.

"Ma'am?"

Miss Jones sighed. Ezra hadn't heard a single thing she said that morning. "Class, let's take lunch early today. Ezra I want to talk to you please."

Ezra sighed. "Yes Ma'am."

The rest of the class gathered their lunches and headed outside. Miss Jones came over and sat next to Ezra.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No Ma'am."

"It may help you to pay attention after lunch."

"I'm sorry Miss Jones. I can't seem to focus on schoolwork. I will try harder."

"Go have your lunch and if you want to talk, I'll be here to listen."

"Yes Ma'am."

Ezra took his lunch and headed outside. He saw Vin and JD eating with Nathan and decided he wanted to be alone. He walked over to a tree near the water pump. He sat down in the shade and tried to clear his mind of all of the horrible thoughts running rampant through his head. He wanted to scream, shout, and cry. He was startled out of his thoughts by Jake Peterson.

"Hey boy. You get in trouble with the teacher?" Jake sneered.

Ezra didn't even look up. He didn't need this today. Why couldn't Peterson go bother someone else?

"What's wrong? Cat got yer tongue?" Ezra still didn't answer. "Didn't yer mama teach you no manners?"

The mention of his mother snapped his head up. The look Ezra gave young Peterson wiped the smile off of his face. Peterson decided that Ezra did the "Larabee Glare" very well and retreated.

//Idiot// Ezra tried to eat but found his stomach rebelling after the first couple of bites. He bagged up the leftovers and decided to walk off some of the nervous energy.

On his second trip around the schoolhouse, Ezra noticed Jake picking on some of the younger kids. An image of a skinny little boy, being pushed into the dust by a much bigger boy flashed in Ezra's mind. For a second he was back on the plantation, where his "brothers", use to push him around. Back then, Ezra was too timid and small to fight back, but seeing Jake push another little kid made something in Ezra snap.

Ezra walked up to Jake and hit him as hard as he could. Blinded by the rage that had simmered all morning, Ezra threw himself on top of Jake and started to pound him into the dust.

The cheers of the other children brought Miss Jones out to see Ezra punching Jake over and over again. She hollered at Ezra to stop, but he couldn't hear anything except the taunts of the past. Miss Jones was able to finally get a couple of the older boys to pull Ezra off of Jake. Ezra struggled against the bigger boys until he came back to his senses.

Ezra looked at Jake and then Miss Jones. Once he had stopped fighting, the older boys let go of him. Ezra realized that he had lost his fragile control and wanted to cry. Before Miss Jones could reprimand him for fighting, Ezra turned and ran from the schoolyard. He didn't hear Miss Jones order him back and he wouldn't have cared anyway.

Ezra ran full speed until he finally found himself behind the mercantile. He sagged to the ground and let the flood of tears of frustration finally fall.

Chris came out of the mercantile and heard the sobbing immediately. He also recognized the child who was crying. As he walked toward the sound he glanced at his timepiece. It was too early for school to be out, so something must have happened. He saw his little brother huddled against the alley wall, back heaving with sobs. He quietly approached and squatted down in front of Ezra.

"Hey Little brother. What's wrong?"

Ezra looked up and saw Chris. For a second he thought he would be in trouble but he didn't care at the moment. He felt so alone and lost he found himself moving into Chris' strong embrace and cried harder.

"Shh. It's okay. Calm down Ez." Chris calmed his brother and sat down while he gathered Ezra into his lap. Ezra slowly stopped crying and finally looked up at Chris.

"I'm sorry." Ezra said so softly that Chris had to strain to hear him.

"What for Ezra?"

"I... hurt Jake... and... ran off... from school."

"Why did you hurt Jake?"

"He was pushing one of the little kids around and the next thing I knew I was being pulled off of him by someone and Miss Jones was about to yell at me. I just had to go somewhere. I know I shouldn't have run off but I felt trapped." Ezra started to cry again.

"I'm sorry Ezra. I should have let you stay home for a few days. It's too much to have to deal with school, bullies, and Maude. Why don't we get you cleaned up and into the wagon?"

Ezra let Chris settle him in the back of the wagon on the grain sacks and a blanket. When Chris returned a few minutes later, Ezra was sound asleep. Chris smiled. //We'll get you through this little brother//

Chris drove the wagon to the schoolhouse and talked to Miss Jones. He made sure Jake was okay and that Miss Jones knew Ezra was staying home for a few days. She gave him Ezra's work and Chris gathered the rest of the family. With a final stop to pick up the telegraph from the judge, they all headed home.

Chris sat in his father's chair staring at the fire crackling in the great fireplace in the living room. The house was quiet with everyone else in bed. Everyone else had been asleep for hours and Chris couldn't get his mind to wind down enough to sleep. He had heard from the Judge and that he would be in town within the week. Chris knew he needed sleep if he was going to be any good for Ezra.

//Ezra// Chris couldn't imagine his life without his little brother. He smiled when he remembered the first time they found out about Ezra. He had been seventeen when his father returned from a business trip announcing that he had another brother. Pa had actually known about Ezra from the moment he was born, but hadn't told his other sons. Linc had returned from that trip angry. Chris, Buck, and Josiah didn't know what had happened on the trip until the first night back when Linc called all three boys into the living room and sat them down for a father son talk.

"Boys. I need to tell you all something very important." Linc said.

"Then let's get some rest and tomorrow we will prepare the ranch for our new boy."

Chris smiled again. They had all scrambled to prepare a room for Ezra and after their pa was gone for a couple of days, they had received a telegram telling the boys to prepare a second room. The telegram didn't say anymore, but when Josiah, Chris, and Buck met the stagecoach, Pa stepped off with Ezra and Nathan. Pa had only discovered Nathan while he was retrieving Ezra. Unfortunately, Pa had to pay for Nathan too.

"What are you still doing up Chris?"

Chris turned to see Josiah smiling at him.

"I couldn't sleep. So I came down here to think."

Josiah sat down. "Must have been happy thoughts. You had a smile on your face."

"I was just remembering the day Pa told us about Ezra and then showed up with Ezra and Nathan."

Josiah laughed. "It was a shock to find out Pa had two sons not just one."

"Two? I hate to say it, but Pa sure got around. He met your ma and never knew about you for years. He at least married my ma. There was Buck's ma, then Maude and Nathan's ma. Then he married Vin's ma then JD's ma. I always wonder how Ezra would behave if he never had to deal with his mother's influence."

"He wouldn't be the same little boy. His life with his ma defined part of his character. Where some of his habits are horrible and need correcting, she did give him strength and determination that will help him when he's a man."

"I'm sure your right Josiah. I just hope he'll get through this without feeling his mother hates him. I'm sure she doesn't, she just doesn't know anything about proper care of a young boy."

"Are you planning on going to get the custody papers tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think since Ezra isn't going back to school this week, he can work on his schoolwork in the morning and help you and Buck with the ranch chores."

"Sounds good. I'll be working with the horses and Buck needs to finish moving the herd into the bottom-land for the winter."

"Try to keep him busy so he doesn't think about Maude too much. The Judge should be here by Friday so I thought I would ask Nettie to make dinner for him and Mary on Saturday. Then we can talk about what to do next."

"Sounds good." Josiah stood and stretched out his back. "Well, little brother. You need to go to bed and get your rest. You are a terrible grouch when you're tired."

"Grouch? Looks who's talking grumpy." Chris stood and banked the fire.

"Grouch and Grumpy huh? Best not let Vin and Ezra hear those names."

"I wouldn't want to have to kill any kids before the judge showed up."

"Might look suspicious."

Josiah and Chris headed for bed. Both enjoyed the quiet banter but were still troubled about Maude's visit. Sleep finally found both brothers in the wee hours of the night.