"What news do you have for me?"

"Sir. I think that the boy is happy where he is."

"I don't pay you to think Frank. I pay you to get close to Maude's boy."

"Well, I talked with the boy and observed how the family interact and they do love each other; greatly."

"Maude said they were only keeping him out of obligation." McMaster sneered.

"Not to disagree with your Missus but Ezra is happy and loved. They don't 'put up' with him out of some obligation to their dead father. They really love him. They are also very protective of him. Since I arrived, the boy hasn't been out of sight of at least one of the three oldest brothers. They have been helping keep his schoolwork up at home and comfort him when he's upset."

"You sound like you admire their family."

"I do sir. I wish when my pa had died, I had had someone half as kind to me when I was a boy."

"How do you explain his disobeying his mother about not telling Mr. Larabee about her letter?"

Frank laughed. "Well, sir, he didn't disobey her. He told Josiah about the letter, not Chris. He is very clever, but honest."

"Honest?"

"Yes sir. I heard stories about some of the younger brothers antics. Ezra likes to gamble, and this summer, after Josiah took a switch to the boy, Ezra promised not to gamble again until he was grown up."

"And has he kept this promise?"

"Yes sir. However, I would bet he worded the promise with a loophole. He is a clever boy."

"Do you think he would be a help or a hindrance to our plans in Europe?"

"Honestly?" McMaster nodded. "I think he has learned a great deal from his pa and brothers in the last 8 years. He's hard working. He keeps his promises. He is very loyal and above all else, he's honest. He has learned right from wrong and I get the impression from him, that he doesn't appreciate Maude and her cheating ways. I honestly think he would be impossible to break, and you would have to break him in order to change him."

"I'm too old to break in a boy. I need to think this out. Stay at the job until I tell you otherwise Frank."

"Yes sir." Frank left his boss feeling like he helped young Ezra.

Charles McMaster decided to see for himself whether Ezra was happy or not. He rented a horse and headed out toward the Magnificent Seven Ranch. It was a beautiful spread with massive trees reaching for the sky. The air was clean and clear and McMaster found himself inhaling the fresh mountain air. As he approached the yard to the massive ranch house, he observed two smaller boys carrying wood in a cart toward the house. They were talking and laughing with each other until they noticed him. McMaster smiled as the older boy said something to the younger boy that sent him running into the barn yelling for 'Buck'. Moments later, a young man with a mustache came out of the barn to greet him as he dismounted.

"Can I help ya mister?"

"Yes perhaps you can. I was told in town that this ranch might be interested in breeding stock. I raise prime bulls."

"Well, I can see if Chris wants to talk with ya. Why don't you come on in." Buck turned away from the stranger and waved a black boy over. "Nathan, please take Mr..." Buck paused. The stranger said, "Thornton. William Thornton."

"Please put Mr. Thornton's horse up." McMaster handed the reins to the boy and said, "Take good care of him Boy."

"I will and I ain't no boy."

"Nathan!" Buck rebuked. "Be polite or we'll talk later."

"Ain't no boy Buck."

Buck smiled and then turned to Nathan. "I know you ain't little brother, but you will be respectful."

"Yes sir." Nathan sneered at the stranger and led the horse away.

Buck turned back to the stranger and said, "I apologize for my brother Mr. Thornton, he's a little touchy about people assuming he's hired help."

"Completely understandable. It was my mistake." McMaster assumed the boy was the other child Maude had told him about. //The one born to one of Jackson's slaves//

McMaster/Thornton followed Buck into the house. He was almost run down by the longhaired boy from the yard as he ran past him into the house. He heard the bellow before he saw the source.

"Kevin Tanner!" The longhaired boy stopped in his tracks. McMaster watched as a tall blonde man dressed all in black, entered the room and glared at the boy. This man looked more like a gunslinger, than a rancher. He reached the now still boy and gave him a quick swat as he admonished him to 'walk, don't run'. Buck cleared his throat and Chris looked up to see the stranger for the first time.

"Chris. This is Mr. Thornton. He sells breeding stock."

Chris approached and smiled. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Thornton. Names Chris Larabee. I apologize for my brother's behavior." Chris looked at Vin and motioned him over. "This is Vin. He would like to apologize for his behavior." McMaster noticed the man in black holding the young boys shoulders and adding a small amount of pressure to communicate his wishes. It must have worked too, because Vin made his apologizes and was allowed to go back outside.

"Come on in and have a seat. Would you like some coffee?" Chris asked McMaster.

"Coffee would be great." McMaster was admiring the room he was led to. The high ceiling and large fireplace made the small room look bigger than it was. There were three chairs and a couple of couches around a low oak table. An older lady with grey hair entered with a tray of coffee and cookies. She handed McMaster a cup and a plate of cookies.

"Thank you ma'am." Chris and Buck leaned in for a cookie and Nettie slapped their hands.

"Ow Nettie. Whad ya do that fer?" Buck asked as he rubbed his hand.

"Guest first. Mind yer manners."

McMaster chuckled. Chris and Buck looked sheepishly at their guest. Chris spoke, "Miss Nettie runs the house. She thinks she runs the family too."

"I heard that Christopher." Was heard from the next room.

"She would be correct in that assumption. We would all be lost without her." Ezra breezed through.

Chris motioned Ezra over.

Completely out of character, Ezra sat on Chris' lap as introductions were made. "Mr. Thornton. This is our brother Ezra."

Ezra put out his hand and shook the strangers hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance Sir."

"What a well mannered boy. How old are you?"

"I am thirteen."

"Going on 30." Buck mumbled.

Ezra smiled. "You're just upset because my vocabulary is bigger than your..." Chris quickly put his hand over Ezra's mouth to stop the frequent comparison between Ezra's vocabulary and Buck's prowess. The family knew the statement was made in jest but never in polite company. Ezra removed Chris' hand and smiled innocently. "Big toe is all I was going to say Chris."

Chris didn't look convinced. "Go finish your chores before your mouth finds you some trouble." Ezra stood as Chris gave him a playful swat to send him on his way. Ezra shook the strangers hand again and excused himself.

"I'm sorry about that. My brothers are usually better behaved around company." Chris said.

"No problem. I had brothers and our father never corrected them when they acted badly."

"Well, they were all raised proper, but boys will be boys."

"Any sisters Mr. Larabee?"

Chris smiled. "Nope. Our father had seven fine boys, no girls. Miss Nettie is the only lady in the house."

"And still they all seem to have manners. Very commendable."

"Thank you. I like to think that strangers would see that the boys are well behaved and loved, but I'm afraid most see the misadventures of little boys." Chris paused then asked, "What kind of breeding stock do you sell Mr. Thornton?"

They spoke of business for about 30 minutes and only stopped when JD entered the room. He walked over to Buck and climbed into his lap. He looked upset as he buried his face in Buck's shirt.

"Hey Little Bit. What's wrong?" Buck asked.

"Mr. Thornton. This is our youngest brother JD." Chris said.

"He's so young."

"He's five Mr. Thornton." Buck added.

"Five? I would have guessed three at the most."

"He may be small but he certainly makes up for it with determination." Chris smiled.

"And stubbornness." Buck added.

"I not studdern." JD protested as he sat up.

"Then tell me what's wrong?"

JD motioned for Buck to lean down so he could whisper it in his ear. Buck tried not to laugh at JD, as he 'whispered' for the whole room to hear that he had to go to the outhouse but Vin and Ezra told him there was a monster in the hole.

Chris smiled despite himself. Buck stood up with JD and excused them from the room. "I'll take care of this one."

"Just remember Buck. Josiah should be entering the yard anytime now with a wagon. No chasing children around the yard."

"You wound me Chris." Buck laughed all the way out the door.

"My apologizes again Mr. Thornton. Things have been crazy around here for a couple of weeks."

"No problem."

"If you have a card with your name and address, I can contact you if we need any breeding stock in the near future. We actually have all we can handle at the moment."

"I understand. I hope to hear from you in the future then." Chris and McMaster stood and Chris walked him to the porch. Once there, Chris sent Ezra after his horse and the shook hands.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Larabee. You have a fine ranch here."

"Thank you Mr. Thornton, but the ranch is only secondary to my family. Without them, the ranch is nothing."

"Again, it was a pleasure."

McMaster walked to his horse and took the reins from Ezra. Ezra quickly looked to see if anyone could hear and they smiled at McMaster and offered his hand.

"Mr. Thornton, if that is your name, please inform my mother that I am happy here and that I do not wish to leave. It would save her time and money if she would just leave it alone. Good day." Ezra started to leave but McMaster gently stopped him.

"How did you know?"

"The accent was a dead give away. But even had you disguised it somehow, I recognized the brand on your bag as the same on the letterhead of the letter my mother sent me."

"You are a clever boy. I could give you everything. Money. Power. You would be my heir."

"As appealing as that may sound to you Mr. McMaster, I have more than money or power could ever give me."

"And what is that?"

"A home. A family. The Magnificent Seven Ranch makes money Mr. McMaster. It has power to change the world, and I am one of its heirs."

"You could have the best of both worlds Ezra."

"I like this world thank you. My brother's may be an uncivilized lot, but their mine. I love them. Please convince mother to leave me be. She never wanted me so I don't understand why she changed her mind now."

"It was my idea, Ezra. I wanted someone to leave my organization to. When I found out she had a son, whom she wasn't raising, I wanted you."

"You could choose any boy in the city from a children's home and have a more responsive 'son', because my heart is here. That will never change."

"I understand that now. Maybe when your mother and I return from Europe we will see about giving you another brother."

"Good God. I have enough problems now." Ezra smiled. "I wish you luck on your quest."

"Thank you Ezra." McMaster mounted up. He hesitated a moment and then asked, "Would it be okay if we send correspondence?"

"As long as there are no more letters saying you are coming to fetch me, yes, I would like to hear of your travels with my mother."

"Thank you Ezra. I will have your mother send a telegram to the circuit Judge about her withdrawal for custody."

"Thank you."

"Good bye Son." And with that, Charles McMaster rode out of the yard.

Ezra entered the house prepared for battle. No one knew it yet, but life was about to get back to normal. It would take a few more days for Maude's letter to get to the Judge and then to Chris and Josiah, but he wanted to go back to school. //Did I just think that// Chris was sitting in front of the fireplace thinking when Ezra entered.

"Chris?"

Chris turned around and saw the determination in Ezra's eyes. //Ezra is ready to fight for his freedom// "Yes Ezra?"

"I want to go back to school on Monday."

"Okay." Chris waited for the reaction.

"I'm tired of being home and stuck..." Ezra stopped. "What did you say?"

"I said okay. You can go back to school on Monday."

Ezra tilted his head and looked at his older brother. "What's the catch?"

"No catch Ezra."

"You know something. What is it?"

"Who me?" Chris tried to look innocent. It didn't work.

"Yeah you."

Chris decided to change the subject. "Did Mr. Thornton get off okay?" Chris sipped from his coffee cup.

"What did you hear?"

"Nothing?"

"Then why don't I believe you?"

"You callin' me a liar Ez?" Chris tried to glare at Ezra.

"That's exactly what I'm calling you. A liar." Ezra knew Chris was teasing and went right along with it.

"Why you little brat." Chris reached for Ezra who laughed as he ran out the front door with Chris right on his heals. Chris stopped on the porch and watched Ezra run to the barn. "You can run, but you can't hide." Chris yelled.

"And you told me not to chase kids around the yard."

Chris turned to see Buck laughing at he antics. He glared at Buck, which only made him laugh harder.

"House full of funny people. That's what I have." Chris grumbled as he went to sit next to Buck on the porch. "What did you do with our younger brothers?"

"Which brothers are you referring to?"

"The ones who made up a monster."

"Oh. Well, Vin said it was Ezra's idea. Ezra said it was Vin's idea. JD said Vin told him about the monster but said it was Ezra that told him. You still with me Chris?"

"Just tell me what you did with Vin and Sprout. I know where Ezra is."

"JD used the outhouse and is playing with the kittens in the barn."

"And Vin?"

"He's in the outhouse." Buck smirked.

"How come that sounds bad?" All of a sudden Chris could hear pounding and screaming coming from the outhouse. "What did you do?" Chris was up like a shot headed for the panicked cries coming from the outhouse.

"He ain't hurt. I just jimmied the door to keep it shut."

"Buck. He's terrified of closed spaces." Chris was angry.

"I'm sorry Chris, I forgot."

Chris opened the outhouse and found Vin curled in on himself sobbing. He bent down and slowly touched Vin's shoulder while speaking softly to him. "Hey little brother. You're okay. Come on out."

Vin looked up and reached for Chris. He held on tight as he sobbed on Chris' shoulder. "Shh. It's okay. I have you and you're fine." After Vin was calmer, Chris asked, "You okay now?"

Vin nodded. "I's scart that I couldn't get out." Vin hiccupped.

"I know. I'm sorry the door got stuck."

Vin pushed himself up to look at Chris' eyes. Chris saw, anger? "It didn't get stuck. Bucklin made it stick. Iffin I was bigger enough I'd beat him up fer it too."

Chris had to laugh. Buck had a stricken look on his face. "Tell you what Vin. I'll let ya have a try at him in say... 10 years. Okay?"

"He'll be old as you then. I'd rather ya tanned him good."

"Buck's too old for a tanning Vin and 29 isn't old."

"Seems old ta me." Vin put his head back down on Chris' shoulder. Buck leaned over to look at Vin, only to have him turn his head away.

"I'm sorry Vin. I forgot you don't like small locked places. You scared JD too you know and he forgave you. Could you forgive me? Please?"

Vin thought about it. "Okay. But I ain't forgettin'. When I'm bigger, I'm callin' you out."

"Deal little brother." Buck leaned over and tickled Vin until he giggled.

At dinner Chris told Josiah that they needed to talk about Ezra going back to school. Josiah was against it, but he was open to what Chris had to say.

"What's your proof Chris?"

"Josiah, I know it sounds hard to believe, but the proof will be here at the beginning of the week."

"And you know this because...?"

"I'll tell you then. I know Ezra will be safe in school now. Maude won't be coming."

"Well, if you're sure, I'll trust your judgement."

"Good. I think we need to round up children for an early bedtime so we can all go fishing tomorrow."

"Fishing? You sure you don't have a fever?"

"I'm fine Josiah. It's gonna start getting to cold to fish or do anything, soon so I thought we could enjoy our Saturday as a family, with a picnic and some fishing."

"Sounds good to me."

Saturday's fishing trip seemed to relax everyone. Vin and JD noticed that Ezra was back to being his same annoying self, and they were glad. They assumed it was because Chris and Josiah were allowing Ezra to go back to school. Both Vin and JD personally couldn't understand why anyone would want to go in the first place.

Upon returning from their day at the lake, all little boys were scrubbed and tucked into bed. Then all the big boys took baths and headed for bed. For the first time in over two weeks, everyone sleep straight through the night.

Sunday morning, they all headed for church and Chris was reconsidering being happy about normal behavior. As normally happens, Vin and Ezra had to be separated and threatened until their last chance was up. JD fell asleep after whining about being bored. Nathan mooned over Rain and didn't hear any of the sermon and Buck flirted with the ladies in front of them. //Good thing my gun is by the door// Chris thought.

As the family was headed out of the church and toward the carriage, the Sheriff hollered to them.

"CHRIS!"

"What's up?"

"This telegram just came for you."

"Thanks." Chris opened it and read the wonderful news. He smiled and handed the telegram to Josiah. Instead of going to the carriage, Chris steered everyone toward the hotel to celebrate. As they passed the Clarion, Chris knocked for Mary and the Judge to join them.

Josiah handed the telegram to Ezra and gave him a hug and kissed him on the forehead.

"Not in public Josiah." Ezra scowled at Josiah and then smiled.

At the hotel, Chris told the Judge and Mary what had happened and they were amazed. The telegram only said Maude had decided to withdraw he petition for custody and that she was leaving to see Europe with her new husband and that she would visit Ezra when they got back.

That evening, with everyone asleep, Chris sat in front of the fire thinking. He was brought out of his thoughts when Buck entered. Buck looked at the clock and smiled at Chris.

"I'm a little old for you to be waiting up for."

"I'm not. I was just enjoying the quiet."

Buck came and sat down next to Chris. "Hey Chris? How did you know Maude was going to change her mind?"

Chris smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a sketched photo of a man. Buck recognized him as the salesman that was at the house Friday. "What has Mr. Thornton have to do with this?"

"That is a sketch that Mary found of Mr. Charles McMaster. Maude's new husband."

Buck's eyes got big as saucers. "What?"

"Yep. He waltzed right in here fishing for information on Ezra. I asked Ezra before he went to bed how he knew..."

"Ezra knew too? How?"

"He said he recognized the brand on McMaster's bags as the same one on the letterhead from his mother."

"Wow."

"You don't know the half of it. Ezra confronted him and asked him to tell his mother to leave him alone. Then McMaster offered him the opportunity to become the heir of his organization."

"And Ezra turned it down?"

"Flat out. He told McMaster that he was an heir to this organization, but even if he wasn't he had family and a home and they were more important than all the money in the world."

"Home." Buck sighed.

"Home." Chris agreed.

At the top of the stairs, leading from the great room to the upstairs, Ezra smiled and whispered, "Home," as he headed to bed.

The End