Setting: OW
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fanfiction based on the CBS television series, The Magnificent Seven. It is in no way intended to infringe on the copyrights of CBS, MGM, The Trilogy Entertainment Group, The Mirisch Corp., or anyone else who may have legal rights to the characters, settings or song references. I don't own the characters. This story is strictly for entertainment. No monetary gain will be made from anything contained in this story.
It was a glorious day, this first day of June. The sky was blue and the air was sweet. High above the dusty town, the blue-eyed eagle drank it all in. From his perch on the roof of the mercantile, hidden behind the sign, he could have his open space and watch over town. His keen eyes went up one side of the boardwalk and down the other.
All was calm. Women chatted in clusters, their light voices carrying in the air. Men gruffed and argued loudly by the livery and more male voices sauntered out of the Saloon. Three children rolled a hoop down the street with a tiny dog chasing after them. The stage would pull in soon, bringing the mail and maybe a new face or two. He eyed the rising sun, judging it to still be several hours until noon. He had time to reflect.
Leaving the busy street behind, he settled back, lying flat with his arms crossed behind his head. His handsome features were relaxed as they contemplated his fate. He'd been just another drifter, just passing through, hiding in the shadows and warding off a chill that didn't come from the weather.
His soul has been cold.
Now, those who were once strangers were a multitude of familiar faces. Sighing, Vin shut his eyes and let the sun bathe his face. He inhaled deeply, thinking on how he wasn't cold anymore. He had friends now. People nodded to him in the street, saying hello. When he was sick, they stopped by asking for him, bringing 'get well' wishes and sometimes food. Just this morning, on his way up to his private little hideaway, he'd nodded to three women that greeted him, giggling coyly behind their hands. He blushed after he passed, hearing their whispers.
He sighed again, scratched his lean abdomen and thought on that warmth that he now housed. Gone were the endless string of no name towns and blank faces. From the strong man of the cloth, Josiah Sanchez, the eldest, to the not-so-green-anymore kid from Boston, J.D. Dunne, in the last couple of months, he'd acquired a family.
"Tanner, get your lazy ass down here!"
His lips curled into a wicked grin when that familiar gruff voice hit his ears. The six men he'd come to ride with these last eight odd weeks had become close friends. But one had crossed beyond that, creating a niche deep in his soul. The tracker had lived enough years with the Indians and firmly believed in the guiding ways of the Spirits. He truly felt he was brought to this dusty town that fateful day two months past, the day his blue eyes locked on intense green ones across a crowded street.
It was as if time stopped for a scattering of seconds. The noise on the street died down and he heard his own heart beating. Dressed head to toe in black, with the brim of the dark hat casting a shadow on the fine features, was the other half of his soul — Chris Larabee.
Chris glanced upwards and waited, then made his way into the alley. He kicked an empty box and eyed the metal stairway that led to the roof.
"Goddamn Texan... can't sleep on the ground like normal folks..." he muttered, easily mastering the stairs. He chuffed a breath and shook his head when he crested the top.
Vin Tanner was one of the most dangerous men he'd ever met. From his uncanny shooting skills to his prowess tracking in the wild, added to that his knowledge of several Indian dialects, and the young man was certainly well rounded. He'd grown up hard and tough, giving tit for tat and living on the edge. But he also had a deep spirituality about him. There wasn't another living soul he trusted with his back like he did this man. The depths of those blue eyes took his breath away.
Most of all though, he was grateful. For in this raspy-voiced, sometimes ornery and often hot-headed ex-bounty hunter from Texas, he'd found a healing balm. Inside, where there was once a jagged, open raw wound, now there was healing. The pain of the loss of Sara and Adam, his wife and son, would never leave him. But now, for the first time since he'd ridden from their graves, he was living again.
"You're lucky I didn't send the Kid up here to fetch your scrawny ass," Chris grunted, easing his lean frame over the roof edge. He wrinkled his nose at the near naked body lying in the sun. "He'd have to lock you up. Seems to me there's a law against that..." As he strode closer, he found a half-grin at the total serenity on that sun-kissed face. "You look like a fuckin' lizard, sunnin' yourself like that."
"Jealous?" Vin smirked, peeling one eye open and lifting his arm.
"Of what?" Chris shot back, hauling his bronzed young friend up. "You got no ass to speak of and nothin' but a chicken's chest."
"Jealous," Vin yawned and scratched his chest. "...it's as clear as dirt," he added, walking carefully to a box nearby where his shirt and shoes were resting. He shucked his arms into the bright red shirt and saw the blond's features wrinkle up in distaste.
"Like it?" He wagged his brows. "Nora bought it fer me."
"You slay me, Tanner," the blond chuckled, shaking his head at yet another 'gift'. For some reason, women loved to give Vin things. Shirts, kerchiefs, suspenders, food; half his wagon was now filled up with the trinkets. "Nora, huh?" He thought on the pretty seamstress. "That why your ass is hiding up here? So Lynn won't notice her blue shirt got replaced."
"It's dirty." Vin tugged his boots on. "'Sides, it ain't like I ask fer 'em. I can't help it if women like t'fuss o'er me." He paused, cocked his head and then threw a dopey grin at the blond. "Drives Buck nuts..."
"That it does!" Chris agreed, leading the way back to the ladder and down to the alley. "Town's been too quiet, even the air isn't moving..." He paused when he realized he was talking to air.
"Vin?"
He turned back and saw only the lower half of the baggy pants. The upper body was bent inside the beat up wagon Tanner called home. "What the hell are you doing? It's not bad enough I had to climb up a Goddamn building to find you. I didn't even have coffee yet!"
"Idda never guessed," Vin tossed back, scowling. "...grouchier than a bear with a hot poker up his ass." Vin leaned his body further into the back of his wagon. His first thought was to pick a subdued dark blue scarf until he heard more curses sailing down the alley. Then he smiled evilly, thinking on annoying his irate friend even more.
"Jesus, just pick one!" Chris ordered, then sighed in exasperation when Vin rummaged in the box among a flock of colorful kerchiefs. "For Christ's sake, Vin, while I'm still young!" he hissed, his hands riding on slim hips.
"Look, jes' cause ya got no taste in clothes, don't beat m'ear in," he grumbled before finally selecting a bright yellow scarf, a present from Tammy, the postal clerk. He could hear Chris cursing as he tied it around his neck. Then his eyes lit up when he spotted the blue and white suspenders he'd not worn yet. They were a gift from Jeanne, a shy girl who worked at the bank. He turned back just in time to see the edge of the telltale black duster whipping as the lean man strode off.
"Damn, I'm starved. I got m'mind set on hotcakes with lots o'syrup, some sausages and biscuits and maybe some pecan rolls iffen Inez made some," he prattled, jogging to catch up to the man in black.
"Don't," Chris warned, shooting his arm out, "...come anywhere near me lookin' like that."
"Like what?" Vin crowed, drawing his full height up and hitching his hands on his slim waistline. "Mrs. Crawford at the bank says I got the fairest face in town."
"Mrs. Crawford also says that Ben Franklin has lunch with her," Larabee dismissed of the kind but not-altogether-there woman.
"Mornin', ladies!" Vin boomed to three women who were coming from the laundry.
"Hello, Vin."
"Hi, Vin."
"Mornin', Mister Tanner."
"Mister Tanner," Vin called after the fast-striding leader. "Hear that? Real 'spectful."
"Get away from me!" Chris called back, shoving his body through the batwing doors that hit his friend in the chest. "You look like some fuckin' peacock that exploded."
"Mornin', boys!" Vin boomed, ambling over to the table where Buck, J.D. and Ezra were eating.
"Good Lord, you're enough to rouse the dead from their eternal rest!" Ezra pained playfully, eyeing the beaming tracker.
"Damn, Vin, couldn't you find any green and purple too?" Buck winced and shook his head at the grinning fool who leaned over and picked a biscuit oozing butter off his plate. "Help yourself, Vin! Hell, it wasn't like I was eating that!"
"Green?" Ezra scoffed, slapping the sharpshooter's hand as it dunked the biscuit in his coffee. "I would wager his undergarments are a lovely shade."
"Undergarments?" Vin muffled, making a face. "Ain't Christmas."
"Attaboy!" Chris lauded.
"Damn!" Buck leaned over, eyeing Ezra's custom made, precisely configured coffee. He saw the southerner wrinkle his nose and peer into the cup. "Floaters... I hate that..." he noted of the buttered crumbs now dotting the hot brew.
"Purple..." Vin grinned, grabbing the tortilla wrapped up with eggs and peppers nestled inside from Standish's plate. "That'd be yonder." He slid into a chair and continued to munch while nodding at Larabee's crotch. "Them poor boys o'his is a rite nice shade."
"Coffee," Chris grunted to J.D. who was standing near the bar.
"Sure," the youth's dark head bobbed. "Vin?"
"Naw... I'm good," Vin nodded, picking up Ezra's mug.
"By all means," Ezra waved his hand, "since it's already become a repository for Tanner spit." Then he groaned out loud when an unholy amount of sugar went into the mug.
"Somethin' wrong, Ez?" Vin peered at the disgusted face. "Ya ain't gonna be shootin' out any hot peppers are ya?"
"You're a swine!" Ezra tossed back over the laughter while eyeing his half empty plate and frowning. Then he narrowed his gaze, zoning in on the moving jaws of the would-be cherubic Texan. "You have no shame, sir."
"Aw hell, Ez, ain't like I stole yer woman," the thief rasped, grabbing a sausage from Wilmington's plate. "'Course given the choice, that wouldn't be t'hard."
"Hah!" the southerner scoffed. "The only female that would dare to share your bed would be furry and bearing fleas."
"Damn, Bucklin," Vin grinned. "Ya gonna let Ez talk about Miss Luscious Peaches like that?"
"Ha, ha." Buck pushed his plate away and chuckled again at the curious looks the colorfully garbed tracker was getting. "You know, in the city they got names for pretty boys like you who like to flash a lot of color."
"Dandies," J.D. nodded. "Some men pay good money to get some of that."
"Talkin' from experience, kid?" Chris added over the rim of his mug.
"No! Of course not!" J.D. huffed, turning red.
"Anything we need to know?" Chris inquired of the yellow paper sticking out of the youngest's pocket. He nodded as Inez approached with a plate.
"Your usual." She set the plate of eggs, peppers and ham down.
"Thanks, Inez." He picked up a fork and eyed the sheriff. "J.D.?"
"What?"
"The wire, kid, try to keep up!" Buck rolled his eyes.
"Oh... it's from Tom Haskill at Eagle Bend."
"Haskill?" Vin frowned, snatching a pecan roll from the youth's plate. "Ain't he the new sheriff over there?"
"Yeah, he took over when Cyrus Barker died," Dunne prattled. "Anyhow, the bank got robbed two days ago. He's warning all the surrounding towns. Five men, all in hoods, and they got away clean."
"Anybody get hurt?" Buck asked, watching Chris scan the wire.
"No. But they got close to three thousand dollars." Larabee sighed and handed the wire back to Dunne.
"That's the third bank this month," Buck noted. "I can't believe they got away clean again."
"Good morning, Señor Vin..."
"How come you call him 'Señor Vin'?" Buck demanded.
"Because that is his name!" Inez sauced back as the nimble tracker leapt to his feet.
"Miss Inez." Vin dashed over and took the heavy tray. "Let me git that fer ya. That a new hair comb? Sure is pretty."
"Thank you." She flashed a smile at the charmer and then scowled at Buck. She followed the tracker to an empty table, where he set the tray down. He nodded once and returned to his seat.
"What did I do?" The rogue's voice rose in indignation.
"Nothing!" she huffed. "As usual."
"Goddammit, Vin!" Buck smacked the smirking younger man with his hat.
"It ain't m'fault iffen ya lost yer animal maggots."
"Animal Magnetism!" Buck corrected as the pretty tavern owner set a huge plate full of food in front of the beguiling Texan.
"Aw hell, Inez, ya didn't have t'go t'any trouble. Any old biscuit'd been fine."
"It's no trouble for you Se�or Vin!" She kissed his cheek, gaining a sought after blush. Then she cupped his chin. "Eat! I have plenty more."
"Now hold on a minute," Buck protested, eyeing the large plate of hotcakes, sausage and apple fritters. "I didn't see any silver cross the table. How come he didn't pay?"
"Damn!" Vin grinned at the long stream of Spanish that trailed behind the pretty woman as she made her way to the bar. "That didn't sound good, Bucklin."
"Shut up and eat, Vin!" Buck ordered, slightly annoyed at the ribbing he was now suffering at the hands of his friends.
The morning wore on, lazy and listless, and the peacekeepers were lulled into a relaxed state. Josiah and Nathan were visiting the Seminole Village. Chris was writing a letter to his folks; Vin was dozing in the chair next to him, his slouch hat pulled down over his eyes. Buck and Ezra were playing cards and J.D. was reading the paper.
"Hey, it says here that the month of June is named for Juno, a Roman goddess..." The youthful sheriff scanned the daily edition of The Clarion, the town's paper.
"A magnificent woman, the wife of Jupiter," Ezra drolled, tossing a card and taking a new one. "She was referred to as the 'Queen of Heaven' and the 'Queen of the Mighty Ones'. Although some would argue that the name is aligned to Junius Brutus or perhaps that it's the month when crops are in full bloom."
As Ezra continued with the history lesson, a grinning J.D. elbowed Buck. Over the fanned cards in his hands, the rogue's eyes followed the nod of the bowler hat. Across from them, the tracker was barely visible, his body slouched down in the chair and his face all but obscured by the large hat. Buck bit back a chuckle when the deft hand slid over to Ezra's unguarded plate.
"...she was also the goddess of marriage which is curious given that she was Jupiter's sister as well." Ezra sipped his brandy and reached for his sandwich. His green eyes narrowed and followed the snickering trail. The only visible scan of flesh was the moving jaw that was devouring his lunch.
"You slithering vermin, I was eating that!" Standish scolded, allowing both Dunne and Wilmington to laugh outright. The tracker didn't move at first, then popped the last of the sandwich into his mouth.
"The hell ya were," Vin shot back, paused to burp loudly and swipe his mouth. "Ya was spoutin' some nonsense about a bunch of queens squattin' on fruit. B'tween that and eyein' up how deep them pockets is lined," he jerked his still covered head to the businessmen bearing sample cases by the door, "ya ignored that bird. Seein' as how Inez went t'all that trouble fixin' ya that chicken sandwich, fryin' peppers and slicin' cheese and such, it weren't right t'let it spoil. This way ya ain't gotta waste any more time eatin'. Time ya stop flappin' yer jaws t'eat, most likely them slickers would be headed out and ye'd lose yer chance t'swindle 'em." Although his face remained hidden, his hand came out to pat the scarlet coat of the gambler. "No need t'thank me."
"Shoot left as good?" Chris inquired without looking up from his letter as the sly trickster's hand moved towards his beer, then quickly retracted.
"Cheap bastard."
"You got balls, Tanner!" Buck accused with a wide grin. "Half your clothes come from the women in the town..."
"..even married ones," J.D. added in admiration.
"It'll snow before you buy a round in here..." Wilmington continued.
"Furthermore, the day has not yet arrived when you've parted with any silver to pay for a meal," Ezra admonished.
Vin sat up slowly, pushed his hat back, rubbed his lean abdomen and eyed the table. He scowled when Buck pulled his beer over, hiding it behind his arm.
"Like I'd be that desperate," Vin sassed, rising and eyeing the door. "Think I'll stretch m'legs."
"Good idea," Chris imparted, still writing. "Stretch 'em way down the street. There were hot peppers in that sandwich."
"Vin, why'd you eat that?" J.D. asked. "You know hot peppers give you diarrhea."
"Cause it was free," Buck replied, tossing a card down.
"Shout it a little louder, J.D., could be some folks in Mexico didn't hear ya!" Vin bristled.
"Don't stray too far," Chris called after the fleet-footed Texan. "It's been too quiet, I don't like it."
After Vin's stomach settled back down to normal, he ambled over to the newspaper office. He ducked inside and cocked his head. Before the sounds caught his keen ears, his nose tilted.
"Aw, hell..." he whispered, salivating for what he detected to be something warm and sweet. "Miz Travis? Billy?"
"Vin!"
"Hey, pard!" Vin bent down and caught the flying blond bundle of boy who charged from the kitchen.
"We made oatmeal cookies with raisins and everything. Want some?"
"Ya up fer dunkin'?" Vin teased.
"I can dunk better than you!" Billy challenged, tugging on the sharpshooter's wrist. "Ma... Ma..."
Mary looked up from the table as her six-year old son's excited voice sailed into the room. She lifted the remaining cookies off the tray with a spatula and moved the hot pan to the sink. She hid a smile, knowing that Vin had a sweet tooth.
"Afternoon, Vin," she smiled coyly. "What brings you here?"
"Well, I was passin' by and thought I'd see if Billy wanted t'go fishin'..." Vin's voice trailed off as his eyes watered, spotting the warm cookies.
"Can I, Ma?"
"Okay, you get your gear and wash up. Maybe Vin would like a cookie while he waits."
"We was gonna have a dunkin' contest," Billy protested.
"A what?" Mary frowned.
"Here." Billy tugged on Vin's hand and shoved him towards a seat. "We need two mugs and some milk. I'll pick the cookies out."
"Don't be touchin' all o'em, Billy. Folks hafta eat 'em," Vin warned, nodding as the mug of milk was set down. "Thanks, Mary."
"Okay?" Billy offered a cookie.
"Okay," Vin agreed, holding his cookie over the mug. "Ready, on three... one, two... three..."
Mary chuckled as both 'boys' dunked the cookies into the milk and shoveled them into their mouths. In order to eat the cookie faster, more milk needed to be consumed. That left two sets of white mustached faces staring at her and twin burps wafting into the air.
"Lovely... I wonder why that never caught on?" She shook her head and had to smile at the dopey grin Vin wore.
"I won!" Billy touted.
"Ya sure did," Vin agreed, wiping his mouth. "Go git washed up and git yer pole. I'll get Diablo and meet ya out front."
"Okay, Vin!" Billy called back as his mother and friend headed outside.
"Thanks Mary," Vin stood, grabbing one cookie for the road.
"My pleasure," she returned, watching him head outside.
Mary packed them a snack and tucked it into Vin's saddlebag. "Be back by four, Vin, Billy has homework," Mary advised as Vin hauled Billy up on the horse in front of him.
"Will do," he nodded.
"Billy, you mind Vin, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Vin and Billy rode right past the hotel, where inside, four men were situated in a room on the third floor. From this room, a clear view of main street could be seen. On the bed was a carefully constructed map of the street and the freight office. Of special note were the alleys that led from the back entrance.
The four men were discussing the plan when the door opened and a fifth man entered. He nodded, took his hat off and headed for the table. He poured himself a shot of whiskey and walked over.
"We gonna do this or not?"
"Patience is a virtue, Walters," the leader addressed the lean man bearing a scar under a short head of black curls. "A large shipment is arriving tonight. The bank doesn't open until ten a.m. the next morning. The contractor is picking up that order late, in order to meet the train. So all that money will be in the safe at the freight office. Let's have it..."
"Okay," Jenson, the youngest at age twenty-one began. He could easily pass for fifteen and they used this often as a decoy. His blond waves and large blue eyes hid a soul far from angelic. "Max and me spill the kerosene here and here..." he tapped a spot on the map at the other end of town. It was an abandoned store, near the livery. He indicated two precise places in the building "...under a pile of debris near the window and against the wall." Although is was not close enough to damage the animals in the livery, it would rile them up. That would take all the men in town to the diversion, while they robbed the safe at the freight office.
"We wait for the action to start," the third men noted of the rush to put the flames out. He was stocky and balding with a ruddy complexion. "Then we use a small charge to blow the lock on the safe." Curly Hoover, the powderman finished.
"Meanwhile, me and the kid will double back and keep the middle clear." Max Santiago, a lean and mean hombre from south of the border stated.
"Go high," the leader ordered. "They got too many good guns in this town. Anybody gets a whiff, take them out. You two clean out the safe and head for the stage depot. " the leader nodded to Hoover and Walters. "Ditch the horses at the pass and don't forget to change clothes. "Kid," he nodded to remaining members of the gang. "You and Max wait until you see them clear the rise and then take off. You catch the train in Reading at daybreak. We meet in Elkins Crest at noon. Any questions?" He eyed the motley group, "Good, You know your jobs. Lay low until the town goes dark. Don't fuck it up!" He turned, pausing by mirror and smoothing his perfect hair.
"Where are you gonna be?" Walters addressed. He didn't like the leader, but the man was slick and smart. They'd been pulling off heists for over six months and had yet to be caught.
"Having dinner with an old friend..." His lips curled into a smile and he laughed.
It was a lazy afternoon, full of sunshine and stories. Billy, like mostof the kids in town, thought Vin was a living legend. Vin told them about being raised with the Indians and he could speak in their language. Vin knew everything about tracking, hunting, animals, shooting... Billy's eyes were like saucers whenever the lean Texan spoke. Now, he sat next to Vin by the water, enraptured as the drawling man patiently answered all his questions.
"Did ya go to school?"
"We learned from our elders, not in a buildin' like yer usta." Vin stretched his back and lifted his face to the sun. "We was raised in a village, all the adults was our aunts and uncles. They learned us 'bout everythin'. One of the first things I learnt was t' be respectful. Ya mind yer elders, ya don't ever whine or fuss, ya behave or ya get shunned."
"What's shunned?" Billy cocked his head.
"If ya carried on and got t'fussin'," he paused, "like that kid Jimmy does whenever his Ma takes him into Mrs. Potter's."
"He's spoiled, that's what my Ma says," the blond decided.
"That wasn't allowed. If ya carried on like that, nobody would talk t'ya. Ya earn respect, ya ain't given it. Ya don't ever cheat or steal and ya never lie..."
"Vin, look!" Billy squealed, pointing to a spot a few feet away. "Where's he going?"
"She," the tracker corrected, eyeing the fox. "It's a girl, a female. See," he knelt up and put his hand on Billy's shoulder, pointing with the other one. "She's got a real good set o'feeders on her chest, they're full o'milk t' feed her babies. All the mothers do that, takin' care of the little one's 'til they're big enough t'eat on their own. Shh! Be real quiet now... we can't disturb 'er."
Vin crept closer, lying flat and pressing Billy down next to him. He smiled as the young boy's eyes widened in awe. There, a few feet away, in a hole in the deep grass, three pups were nursing. Finally, Vin tapped Billy's shoulder and drew him back, leaving the young mother her privacy.
"Where's the papa?" Billy asked when they went back to retrieve their poles.
"Out huntin'," Vin replied, eyeing the sky. "It's gettin' late, pard, we gotta make tracks."
Vin and Billy arrived back in town just as the Lady's Auxiliary was concluding their fund raising event. They were selling donated items, such as books, dolls, tools, glassware and other items to raise money for the school. Mary looked up from the table with books for sale, watching the two ride past. Billy was still chattering away and Vin was patiently answering every question. She wished some of the smaller-minded citizens of the town would take the time to see Vin as she did.
"Hi, Ma!" Billy waved and paused as Vin reined the horse in and lowered him down. "Look what I caught!"
"Billy, how about thanking Vin for a nice day?" Mary suggested, watching Vin ease off the horse.
"Oh, yeah!" He dropped his basket and ran back, giving the weary man a hug. "Thanks, Vin! I learned a lot. You sure are smart."
Mary was glad that Vin didn't see the rolling eyes of some of the townsfolk who heard her son. Or the snide remarks about letting a child near that 'heathen'. Gloria Potter appeared with a mug of lemonade for the thirsty traveler.
"Here, Vin, on the house," she offered.
"Thanks, Gloria!" Vin drained it, eyeing the nearly empty tables. "Looks like ya done good."
"We raised almost a hundred dollars."
"That's a lot o'books," Vin nodded.
"...and desks and a salary for a proper teacher," Mary added. "Buck was Daniela's best customer," she chuckled, nodding to the smitten rogue and the pretty dark-haired clerk from the hotel. She was selling sandwiches and refreshments. The customers began to line up and reluctantly, the handsome man bid her farewell. He took a beer and ambled over to sit with the town's sheriff and his girl.
"I'll bet," Vin chuckled, . "He'll have her readin' t'him under the moon somewheres." His eyes roamed around, skirting past where J.D. and Casey were talking quietly. Buck was lifting a full mug of beer just next to them and Ezra was shuffling cards eyeing up potential customers from the door of the Saloon. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a drift of blue smoke and just a hint of a black clothed arm.
"Hey, cowboy!" He ambled over, hitching a thumb into his waistband.
"How's the ears?" Chris inquired, having experienced Billy's chatter firsthand.
"What's that?" Vin cupped his ear and laughed. "I like takin' 'im out. He's a good kid."
"You're just a sucker for little critters, four-legged and two."
"Reckon," Vin sighed, just as a cry split the air.
"My Ma is so a girl, she's got a great set of feeders, Vin even said so!" Billy shouted at two of his snickering friends. "Ain't that right, Vin?"
"Huh?" Vin squeaked, feeling every set of eyes in town plastered to his face.
"What?" Chris puzzled, his face screwed up in confusion as Vin began to backpedal.
"Buck, you okay?" J.D. clapped the womanizer's back. He had the misfortune of having a mouth full of beer when Billy's words hit the air. He was laughing so hard he choked and still couldn't stop.
His face flaming, the nimble tracker suddenly developed two left feet. Stumbling poorly, he seemed to be mired in mud as well. He couldn't get away from the eyes or harsh laughter. He tripped and fell, landing hard on all fours. He was figuring out how to gracefully escape the mess when he found a dark blue skirt inches from his scarlet face.
"Give you a hand?"
Vin swallowed hard and tried to say something that wouldn't sound awful. After several unintelligible grunts, he stood up and faced her. Once he saw her, his mouth opened and all kinds of words flew out.
"Mary... I wasn't talkin' 'bout yer feeders... I mean I'm sure they're real good but I wouldn't never talk t'Billy 'bout yer... uh... a real woman's feeders... " Vin prattled. Chris shook his head, buried his face and groaned. Buck was now purple and causing great concern to J.D. and Casey. Unaware of any of this, Vin rambled on, his nerves in a frenzy now and unable to stop his wayward mouth.
"Not that I didn't notice yer feeders but Billy seen a fox and didn't know it was a mother 'til I told 'im about her feeders and how she's givin' milk that way t'her little ones..." Vin winced when it seemed the volume in the town intensified.
"A linguist and a biologist extraordinaire, Mister Tanner!" Ezra saluted.
Mary felt like she'd been punched in the stomach when Vin half turned, seeing the faces that matched the riotous laughter. Ezra, Buck and J.D. were openly laughing and making catcalls and she felt her anger grow. Seeing how very upset Vin was, she grabbed his shoulders, but he pulled away.
"I'm sor...ry..." Vin managed, pushing through the crowd and disappearing.
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