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The rest of the day went very well with Ezra and JD, and she felt she had made a lot of progress in getting potential students for her school. And as the three rode back into town late that afternoon, Victoria felt better than she had that morning when they left.
Ezra and JD dropped her off at Mary's and offered to take Lady back to the stables.
"Thank you both for a wonderful day." She all but beamed, waving back at them as she headed into the Newspaper office.
Mary raised her head as Victoria entered, her face lighting up at the sight of the girl.
"Hello, Mary. I have just had a completely splendid day." She said, practically waltzing across the room.
"Well, I have to say you look happier than you did yesterday." Mary laughed, pleased to see the smile back on her face. "Did you get a lot of students signed up?"
"As a matter-o-fact I did. I visited five homes today and got positive replies for nine children." But Victoria knew that was only half of what had made her so happy.
"Nine? And counting the six from yesterday, that makes enough to put us over the top!" She said, getting to her feet and coming around her desk.
"Uh….. Mary, that only makes fifteen children, and they said we needed twenty. So unless they have come up with a new way of adding, I think we are still five short.
"Not any more." She laughed. "You know the ad I ran in the paper a few days ago, about the school and how we need students to enroll." She waited for Victoria to nod. "Well today while you were gone, a man came in and asked to sign his kids up. He and his wife just moved into the old Campbell's place, about a mile out of town to the west, and they had seen our announcement. And the best part is, they have seven children, ranging from seven to sixteen, and they want all of them to attend school."
"Seven?" Victoria repeated. "With their seven it will put us past our goal, and according to Ezra and JD, there are still a few homes we were not able to get to today."
"I think we are in business here." Mary looked like she was going to burst with excitement. "And I say we take these figures right over to the board and show them." Mary grabbed Victoria by the hand and headed out the door.
An hour later they two women came back to the Newspaper office laughing and talking. The meeting had gone well and they had the official approval to go ahead with their plans.
"I think this calls for a celebration." Mary stated, falling back into her desk chair with an exhausted but happy sigh. "I don't feel like cooking tonight and neither should you. What say we make reservations at the hotel restaurant tonight and treat ourselves to a fancy meal."
"Sounds wonderful." Victoria said, marveling at how this day just kept getting better and better. "But I don't think it would be right to celebrate without inviting Chris and the others." Especially Vin, she thought silently.
"Are you sure?" Mary was skeptical, but remained hopeful. "I know that something happened between you and a few of them the other day that may have strained your relationships just a little." She held up her hand when Victoria opened her mouth to talk. "It doesn't matter how I found out, and I don't need to know what it was about. But if you are not at ease around them, I won't question it."
"Well, I admit that yesterday I was. It was silly really, nothing they did on purpose, it was just an awkward situation that I blew out of proportion. I think I need to keep more of an open mind out here, it isn't like the city. But I found some things out today that completely erased that from my mind, and I just want things to go back to the way they were. No hard feelings, I promise." Victoria assured her.
"Then I think it would be a wonderful gesture to invite the gentlemen. In fact, lets go do that right now. But first I better go next door and see if they have room for such a large party before we ask. You wait here, I will be right back." She said walking out the door. When she opened it, she almost collided with JD as he was coming in.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Travis." He said, standing aside to allow her by. "Is Miss Victoria available?"
"Yes, she is right inside." She told him as she hurried on her way, thinking that if she could get back before JD left, they could ask him now.
Victoria heard his voice and turned around, noticing that as he entered he was holding something behind his back.
"Hello, JD. I have something wonderful to tell you." She smiled, anxious to tell everyone. "As of today, with yours and Ezra's help, we reached our goal of students, so now we can open the school."
"Great!" JD said, honestly happy for her. "Then these will have a double meaning." He pulled his hand around to the front, revealing a large bouquet of wild flowers in his grip.
"Oh, JD, they are beautiful." She stepped forward and took them in her hands, breathing deeply.
"And I wanted to know if you would like to join me for dinner tonight." He pulled his hat off his head and held it in front of him, his eyes full of hope.
"JD, that is so sweet of you to ask……" She began, but she was interrupted by the sight of Ezra opening the door and stepping inside.
Ezra looked at JD through squinted eyes, wondering why the kid was there.
"We seem to be destined to encounter each other today." Ezra said to JD, stepping past him towards Victoria. "Yet every time we meet is it a happy coincidence, Miss Victoria."
"And to what do I owe this particular 'coincidence', Mr. Standish?" Victoria asked, flattered by all the attention she was getting.
"I came to inquire as to whether you would honor me with your presence this evening for a small repast I had planned." Ezra told her.
"A what?" JD, asked looking at Ezra as if he were speaking Chinese.
"To dinner, if you must know." Ezra said in an exasperated voice.
"Sorry, she can't. She has plans." JD was quick to inform Ezra, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"With whom? You?" Ezra turned to look at the kid, both of them ignoring Victoria.
"Yes with me." JD didn't like the way he had said that, as if it were an impossibility.
"And why do you think she would prefer you over me?"
"Because I asked first." Reminding Ezra of his own words from the night before.
"Actually JD…." Victoria broke in, not wanting the two to argue. "Truth be told, Mary asked first. You see we had both just decided to go out to dinner ourselves when you walked in. In fact, Mary is over at the restaurant making reservations right now, so I am already committed. But we were going to ask both of you, as well as Chris, Buck and the others to join us. So why don't you both say yes to our invitation and the two of you can be my special escorts." She hoped this would solve the problem. She liked both men very much and enjoyed their company equally, so she didn't want to cause any hard feelings between the two friends.
Mary came back in before either of them could respond, and told Victoria that everything was set.
"Have you had a chance to ask them?" She was surprised to see Ezra there as well, but at least the wouldn't have to go hunting him down to invite him to dinner.
"I have asked, but they have yet to reply." Victoria looked at the two of them hopefully.
"I would be delighted to escort you to dinner Miss Victoria." Ezra told her, bowing his head slightly.
"I would too." JD was quick to add. He was not going to let Ezra edge him out of escorting her as well.
"Wonderful then. I will see the two of you back here at eight sharp to walk me over." She leaned up and gave them both a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned and went with Mary back to the house to put her flowers in some water.
Ezra and JD were left standing alone in the office.
"She would have said yes to me, if she hadn't had plans, you know." JD informed Ezra as he walked to the door to leave.
"Why would a lady choose beef jerky when she could feast on prime rib." Ezra countered, following him out.
After they had put the flowers in a vase, both Mary and Victoria went out in search of the remaining five men. They found Josiah and Nathan at the church, looking over the drawn out plans they had made up. Both were happy to accept the ladies' invitation and told them they would meet them at the restaurant. Then it was on to the jail house where Mary had said she had seen Chris heading earlier.
Sure enough, they found him sitting in front of the jail house. He stood up as they approached, giving Mary a wary look, wondering if she had come to yell at him again.
"Chris," Mary greeted as they stepped up on to the sidewalk. "Victoria and I have come to ask if you would like to join us for dinner this evening. We are celebrating the attaining of our quota of students and wish for you to be a part of it after all your assistance."
Chris looked from Mary's face, which he found unreadable, as well as beautiful, to Victoria.
"Please Mr. Larabee. I would be very honored if you would join us." Victoria added quickly, hoping he could read her silent apology in her eyes. "It just wouldn't be the same without you there."
Chris' heart was touched. She actually wanted him to come, and that in itself was enough to make him walk across the desert in order to be there.
"It would be my pleasure, Miss." He accepted.
He was rewarded for this with a bright smile from Victoria.
"Wonderful, we will expect you at the restaurant at eight." She said in a delighted voice.
"Why don't you go find Mr. Tanner and see if he is free tonight. I have something I need to discuss with Chris and then I will go invite Buck." Mary told her.
"Ok, I will see you back at the house in a bit." Victoria headed off down the street.
When she had gone, Mary looked up at Chris.
"I thought you said she was upset with Buck and me?" Chris asked.
"She was yesterday and this morning. And I don't know what happened today during their ride, but she seems back to normal now." She assured him. "And asking you all to join us for dinner was her idea, so she must be Ok with it."
"Well, maybe the smoke has cleared then." He mused, shrugging his shoulders. He never could understand women, so why should he think Victoria would be any different.
"But there is one other thing I thought you should be aware of." Mary stated, not looking forward to what she had to tell him. "Both JD and Ezra had plans to invite her to dinner tonight as well it seems. And since we had already made arrangements, she asked them to be her special escorts in order to keep the peace between them."
"I knew no good was going to come out of sending her out with the two of them!" Chris fumed. "Give the two of them just a little encouragement and see how they run with it."
"Don't you go blaming me, Chris Larabee, when you know very well that you had a hand in this too. If you, Buck and Vin had not done what you did, and I don't even want to know exactly what it was, this would never have happened. So you just count your lucky stars that we will all be dining as a large group tonight, and simmer down." Mary was not daunted by his flare up, for she knew he was only reacting that way because of his fatherly instincts. The fact that no man is good enough for any man's daughter has been passed down with each generation. Mostly because all men knew what they had on their minds when they were young, and they didn't like the idea of another guy looking at his daughter in that way.
Chris just shook his head in exasperation.
"I am not prepared for this." He said sadly.
"No father is." Mary laughed sympathetically.
Victoria had walked down by the general store, then all the way down to the Black Smith's shop before she found the very man she had been looking for in the livery. Vin had just come back from a scouting ride that Chris regularly suggested to keep them informed of the goings on around the town, and was putting his horse back in its stall when Victoria walked in.
"Mr. Tanner?" She called tentatively, not knowing what sort of reception she was going to get.
Vin turned around and looked at her as if she were a mirage. What was she doing looking for him, and with an actual smile on her face? He had thought she would never want to speak to him again, much less in such a friendly tone of voice. But he did notice that she was back to using his proper name, and not Vin as she had before.
"If you are not too busy, could I take a few minutes of your time?" She asked, walking up to him until they stood only a foot or two apart.
"Sure." Vin said, motioning to some flat boxes amid the hay at the other side of the stables.
When the two of them sat down, there followed a long silence while Victoria got up the nerve to speak.
"I sought you out for two reasons. The first being to apologize for my rude behavior at the saloon the other day. I had no call to act the way I did and I want you to know how ashamed I am." She blurted out, afraid if she stopped she would never get started again.
"You are apologizing to me?" Vin was flabbergasted.
"I know I should have done it sooner, but I was too humiliated to face any of you. It is none of my concern what you do in your free time and I would never presume to pass judgment. But, I believe that is exactly what I was doing and that is the reason I wanted to apologize." There, she had said it. Now she held her breath, afraid of what Vin might say.
"Victoria." He said softly, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. "There is no call for you to apologize to me. Or Buck and Chris for that matter. You didn't do anything wrong."
"Thank you for saying so. But I now realize that my presence in the saloon was inappropriate. And I think that I had my nose bent out of shape just a little to think that women were not allowed in there, and that put me on edge. I am not saying that I want to go in and have a drink or anything, and I realize that after a hard day men like to have a place to relax and unwind. And there is nothing wrong with that, I have come to accept that idea. I am just sorry I embarrassed myself and made you feel uncomfortable in the process." She gave a nervous laugh. "This is what my mother had warned me about when I told her I was going to head west some day. A clash of cultures, she called it. Well I guess I learned that lesson the hard way."
"Not quite what a civilized city girl expected, I take it?" Vin asked.
"Oh some of it is. The beautiful scenery, the wide open spaces and the mystery of never knowing what lies beyond the next rise. But yes, some of it is very different from the city. I had heard about…… uh…… what did Mr. Larabee call them, Ladies of the Evening? But that was the first time I had ever met one." Her face turned red at the remembrance.
"Nothing is going on between Jolene and myself." Vin heard himself say. He wished he had not been so blunt, but there was no taking it back now. "I mean, if you got the impression that we were anything more than acquaintances, it was only due to the misinformation that Jolene wanted you to believe."
"I know. It just took me a little while to cool down to realize it." She couldn't look at Vin at that moment, for fear her eyes would betray her heart. Yet she couldn't think of another thing to say and the silence was becoming very heavy.
But in the silence between the two she heard a faint sound, catching her attention and giving her an escape from her predicament.
"Do you hear that?" She asked, cocking her head to once side as she listened.
Vin pried his attention from her and concentrated on hearing what she did.
"It sounds like an animal." Vin said, getting to his feet and walking towards the noise.
"A very small animal. Almost like a baby kitten." Victoria was on her feet and beside him in an instant. "In fact I am sure it is a baby kitten." She looked up at the hay loft above them, zeroing in on the sound. She rushed over to the ladder that led up there and hurried up.
Vin followed at a safe distance, just in case it turned out to be something else, something more dangerous. But when he crested the ladder and saw Victoria sitting among the hay cradling a small ball of fur to her cheek, he dismissed that idea.
"Come and look, there are three of them." She called, motioning to him.
Vin came over and sat down beside her and looked at the two other babies who were at that moment receiving a bath from their very content looking mother. She had chosen a very cozy place for her litter, nestled behind a large box of tack in the warm hay. She seemed friendly enough and apparently didn't care if they handled her kids, as long as they were careful.
"Look at this one." She said holding up the one in her hands. "He has one blue eye and one brown one. Do you think they will stay that color or change?"
"I have seen cats with different color eyes, so I bet they will stay that way." He mused, enjoying the look on Victoria's face more than the sight of the kittens.
She handed the one she had been holding over to Vin, who took the small thing nervously in his hands. He had hands more suited for work or holding a gun than such a delicate thing as this and he was afraid he would break it.
"You better take it back." He said, holding it out to her. The kitten started to squirm in his hands and mew.
"You are doing just fine. Hold him close like this so he feels protected." She instructed, demonstrating with the one she had just picked up herself.
Vin did as she said, holding it in his cupped hands up against his chest and the little thing quieted down. He smiled back at Victoria, still not very sure of himself.
"There you see, he likes you. All he needed was to feel safe." She reached out and rubbed the kitten's little head with her finger. "They are just like babies. Give them a little love and a secure feeling and they will reward you in return."
"Well I have even less experience with babies than I do with kittens." Vin laughed, trying to remember the last time he had even seen a kitten.
"Then you are a quick learner, and I am sure you will be a wonderful father someday." As soon as she had said this she realized what a loaded comment that had been, and she quickly tried to cover it over. "I mean…… judging from the way this little fellow has taken to you."
Fatherhood? Vin found that the idea itself was overwhelming, especially for a man in his situation. He had only a few days ago even let himself dare to think about the possibility of courting a relationship. But fatherhood? Why not consider the possibility of him being king of England some day, that was just as likely to happen as the other at the moment. But still, as he looked at Victoria as she bent her head to kiss the head of the small calico kitten she was holding, he could imagine her holding a child. Cradling a child, whispering loving words in its ear and singing it to sleep. Yes he could see Victoria with a baby. His baby.
Vin almost jumped as the thought came into his head. Whoa! Where had that come from? One minute they are talking about kitten's eyes and the next she had him thinking of marriage and kids. Marriage?! There was another word that was alien to him. Where were all these thoughts coming from, thoughts that he should not be thinking. You better pull in the reins, Tanner. He told himself, laying the kitten down beside it's mother. You have no business planning any future for yourself, let alone a wife and children with a bounty on your head.
"We best leave them be now, we don't want the mother to get upset and move them." Vin told her, wanting to remove himself from the family atmosphere so he could start thinking straight.
"You're right. I will come back tomorrow and check on them, maybe bring the mother some extra food to help with her little family." Victoria said, putting the one she had been holding back among its siblings.
They walked to the ladder and began to climb down, Vin going first so that he could help steady the ladder for Victoria. She had almost made is down when her skirt got caught on one of the rungs. She released the ladder with one hand in order to reach down to free it but in doing so she lost her balance, sending her falling back into Vin's arms. Unfortunately she had caught him off guard and not having expected her to come at him like that, he too lost his balance and the two of them landed in the hay below as they sunk deep inside the yellow straw.
Vin sat up quickly, his voice urgent as he asked her if she was all right. Her reply came in gasps of laughter as she rolled off of him and sat up beside him.
"Well that was fun." She giggled, picking up a fist full of hay and tossing it in the air so that it came down all over them. "It seems that you are always there to catch me when I need help, Vin Tanner. Are you my personal guardian angel?"
And although the idea did appeal to him, Vin knew that with the thoughts he was thinking at that moment, he had no business calling himself an angel. And as he found himself gravitating closer and closer to Victoria, his eyes zeroing in on her lips, he knew that this might be the closest to heaven he would ever come.
"Well, well." A voice from the stable doors said. "Isn't this a pretty scene?"
The two looked up suddenly to see Josiah, Nathan and Buck watching them from the livery doors. And although both Josiah and Nathan had big humorous smiles on their faces, Buck did not.
Victoria recovered first, pulling herself up out of the hay with a laugh born from the innocence of not realizing what the situation appeared to be.
"Vin and I found a litter of kittens in the hay loft and when we were coming back down I tripped and fell. Vin caught me, but I knocked him back in the hay in doing it." She explained, brushing her skirt free of the loose hay.
"But what were you doing in here in the first place?" Buck asked, eyeing Vin with suspicion.
"Oh, I almost forgot the reason I came in." She turned back to Vin. "I came to ask you to dinner tonight. We are celebrating and would like you to join our little group at the restaurant tonight. Will you come?"
Wild horses could not have kept him away.
"I will be there." He assured her, with a smile that almost melted her heart.
"Fine, now that that is settled." Buck said gruffly, taking hold of Victoria's hand and pulling her out of there. "You best be getting back to Mary's before she worries about you."
Victoria gave a hasty wave back at the three men as Buck practically dragged her behind him. After a few seconds of fighting to keep up as they moved to the sidewalk, she stopped short and yanked her hand from his grip.
"What has gotten into you Buck?" She asked, not liking this new side of the normally easy going man. "Are you mad at me or something? Mary found you and invited you to dinner too didn't she?" Figuring maybe he thought he was being excluded from the dinner party.
"Yes she found me, and no I am not mad." He said, gritting his teeth against the frustration he felt. How could he put this delicately. "It was just that from the looks of things when we walked in, anyone would have thought the two of you were…… were…… having a roll in the hay." He finished.
"Well, you might say were. Not so much rolling, but falling at least." She told him.
"No! You just don't get it." Buck threw up his hands and passed back and forth in front of her. "A girl like you, someone innocent and naive to the ways out west, should be very careful as to the company she keeps and not allow herself to be put in compromising situations involving men of questionable character." He knew that was a harsh description of Vin, a man he normally had the highest admiration for, but this was his Baby Sister they were talking about. Where she was concerned, every man was the enemy. "I would strongly advise you not to spend any more time alone with Vin. You have your reputation to think about." Not to mention his frayed nerves.
But instead of getting upset like he had expected her to, she laughed in his face.
"Oh Buck, you are so sweet." She said reaching up to pinch his cheeks on each side. "But if I was concerned about my reputation and being seen alone with men of questionable character, then I would not be standing here with you now." She poked him in the chest a few times with her pointer finger. "For you, Mr. Wilmington, have quite the reputation as the ladies man around town. And if Mrs. Travis sees no objection to my spending the whole day alone with you, then I don't think Vin Tanner, or anyone else for that matter, is much of a concern."
Buck opened his mouth to explain the difference between he and Vin, but found that no words came out. For how could he tell her why Mrs. Travis didn't view him or Chris as a threat, where as Vin, Ezra and the others certainly were.
"Now if you don't wish flies to mistake your mouth for a tunnel, I suggest you close it and escort me back to Mary's. I have to get ready for dinner, and I fully expect you to be promptly on time as well." She tucked her arm snugly inside his and began to lead the stunned man down the sidewalk.
Victoria took great pains with her appearance that night, fixing her hair in the most flattering manner to accommodate a few of the wild flowers that JD had given her. Her dress was a deep burgundy with a low enough neck line that she almost had second thoughts about wearing it. She had never been one to fret about false modesty before, she wondered why it mattered now. But she knew. She wanted Vin to notice her, but she certainly didn't want him to think her a woman of loose morals. She was standing in front of the mirror trying to make up her mind when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." She called absently.
Mary peeked in and saw Victoria with her back to her, but her reflection shown clear in the mirror. She walked up behind her and put her hands lightly on each side of her arms.
"You look like a princess, Victoria." She said with all the pride of a mother. "You will take everyone's breath away tonight."
"You don't think it's too much…….. or too little?" She laughed, pulling up on the neck line.
"No, it is perfect." She gave a sly grin and watched for Victoria's reaction. "Vin will not be able to keep his eyes off of you."
Victoria spun around her face aghast at Mary's words.
"How did you……" Her hands flew to her face in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"
"Only to another woman." She quickly assured her. "He hasn't a clue." And neither does any one else, thankfully.
"How long have you known?" She sat down on the bed, making room for Mary beside her.
"I didn't know for sure until today. I had suspected it, but after hearing how you reacted after seeing Vin with Jolene in the saloon, and from what Buck said about finding the two of you in the stables, I put two and two together."
"Nothing happened in the stables, I swear." She said, quick to defend Vin's gentlemanly reputation.
"I know. Vin is nothing else if not honorable. All the boys are. But remember, it is up to you to keep them that way. Men are not governed by their hearts or their heads all the time, and given too much encouragement, they might just forget what their mother's taught them." She reached up and cupped her cheek in a tender way. "I am not saying this just about Vin, or Buck or any other man in this town. I am saying it about every man in general. It is a big, wide world out there and not everyone is going to have your best interests at heart. So you need to protect yourself, and not just from danger, but from a broken heart as well."
"You think Vin might break my heart?"
"I don't think Vin would ever do anything like that intentionally, but I don't know all that much about him or his past and you never know what may be lurking back there to jump out and scare you. So all I am saying is be cautious. Don't let your guard down too fast, get to know him, all of him, not just the image he wants everyone to see, before you let yourself fall too hard." She warned.
"Like you are doing with Mr. Larabee?" Victoria asked, seeing the same shocked look coming to Mary's face that she had just had.
"Where did you ever get that idea?" She asked, trying her best to regain her composure.
"From watching the two of you together. Oh please, it is written all over your face every time he is around."
Mary spent a few more seconds acting as if she were going to deny it, but then let her shoulders slump in defeat.
"I am that transparent?" She asked, afraid of the answer.
"Only to another woman." This got the both of them laughing. "And I think Mr. Larabee is a fine man, and he is lucky to have a woman like you interested in him."
"You really like him?"
"He seems kind, honest, very dependable and not to mention incredibly handsome." She winked, then sobered quickly. "For a more mature, distinguished gentleman that is, hardly my type."
"I should hope not." Mary replied, happy for more reasons than Victoria knew. "So if it is Vin Tanner who had gotten your heart all a flutter, why is it that you are letting Ezra and JD escort you to dinner?"
"Because they asked me." She replied, matter-o-factly. "And I just couldn't let them go on fighting between themselves like that, it was embarrassing."
"Not to mention a little flattering?"
"Yes, that too."
"And if Vin gets a little jealous seeing all the attention you are getting from them, then that is just an added bonus, right?" Mary added.
Victoria looked at her with an ashamed expression.
"Do you think I am being dishonest? I would never have intentionally solicited Ezra and JD's invitation to dinner, but asking them to both escort me seemed the only way to stop them from fighting. Did I do the wrong thing? "
"No. You are not doing anything wrong. You are just enjoying the attentions of two fine men, and as long as you don't make any promises you don't intend on keeping, no harm done. But just remember, men's egos are a fragile thing, don't play it up too much with Ezra and JD in front of Vin. Let each of them walk away tonight with some dignity……….. not much, but some."
The two of them were sent into another fit of laughter over this and they only sobered when they heard the knock at the back door. Walking out to the parlor they answered the door. Ezra stepped inside and removed his hat, greeting Mrs. Travis politely.
"Mrs. Travis, as always you are the picture of elegance and grace." He told her, enjoying her slight blush at his words.
But when he saw Victoria standing behind her he was speechless, and that is saying a lot for Ezra.
"Miss Victoria, you are indeed a vision. I dare say you make the angels weep with envy." He took her hand in his and bowing slightly he kissed the back ever so gently, never letting his eyes leave hers.
"You do know how to take a girl's breath away, Mr. Standish." Victoria told him, fanning herself slightly for effect.
"A lady of your beauty must be used to such displays of admiration by now, for before me is perfection itself." He stepped forward, pulling something out of his pocket. "With perhaps the acceptation of this."
Victoria took a sharp breath as Ezra held up a beautiful cameo on a chain. He quickly stepped behind her fastening it securely in the back.
"Ezra, this is too much." She protested, picking the cameo off her throat where it hung and looked at it.
"A mere token of my esteem. Hardly worthy of the neck it graces." He held out his arm to her. "Shall we go?"
"Where is JD?" She asked. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"
"If the lad is unable to keep track of the time, why should we suffer?" He started towards the door, only to halt as JD appeared in the door way.
"Here you are, we were beginning to worry." Victoria said, reaching out her hand to pull him inside.
"Yes, nigh on sick with anxiety." Ezra agreed, but his words did not have the ring of truth.
JD gave Ezra a murderous look as he removed his hat, looking back at Victoria apologetically.
"Sorry I am late. My trousers mysteriously disappeared from the bath house." And he had a pretty good idea about how that happened.
"How dreadful, could there be a thief loose in this town?" Victoria feigned
a look of shock, knowing full well where they had gone. "But now that you are here, we should be heading for the restaurant."
Mary was quick to see that another skirmish was about to take place, so she headed it off at the pass.
"Mr. Dunn, would you help me with my wrap?" She asked, trying to divert him from competing with Ezra for Victoria's attentions. "And I would be honored if you would lend me your arm on the walk over."
Victoria saw what she was doing, and gave her a silent 'thank you' when the others were not looking.
So it was that when the four of them entered the restaurant, Victoria was being escorted by Ezra and Mary was accompanied by JD.
Chris and Vin had arrived at the same time, noticing that the owner had set up a large round table in the corner for the nine of them. Nathan, Josiah and Buck were already there, lounging at the table and swapping stories about everything and nothing. The two of them sat down and gave their drink request to the man when he came to take their order.
"So where are the ladies?" Nathan asked.
"You know women, they like to make an entrance." Buck laughed, taking a swig of his foam topped beer. But before he could swallow it, the four missing guests walked in, and the sight of them almost made Buck spray the beer in his mouth across the table.
Nathan slapped him on the back to stop him from choking as the rest of the men turned around to see what had gotten Buck in such a dither.
"Lord have mercy." Josiah whispered as they approached.
Vin and Chris stood up, more out of shock than respect, and as soon as Buck was able to breath, he and the others followed suit.
"Good evening, Gentlemen. We hope you have not been waiting long." Mary said, wanting to laugh out loud at the expressions on all their faces. Especially Chris and Vin, for they looked as if they had both just eaten the hottest chili pepper that ever came out of Mexico City. Tonight was the night that Chris was going to have to face the fact that Victoria was not a little girl any more, she only hoped he would survive the revelation.
Victoria headed for an empty chair, making sure that there was an empty seat on either side for Ezra and JD. JD was the first to react in time to pull out her chair and assist her in sitting, settling down in his place of honor beside her with a huge smile.
"So what does everyone like on the menu?" Victoria asked, watching as Vin sat down slowly in the chair just opposite of her.
Mary had ended up beside Chris, and seeing the lost and confused look that still remained on his face, she patted his leg in sympathy under the table. He looked over at her and gave her a look that could only be described as a plea for help, almost making her laugh.
The other men recovered from their shock and were now discussing the menu, offering suggestions as to what they had found appealing, as well as what they had eaten before and would not recommend to their dog, if they had one.
And even though Vin tried to keep his mind on what to order, he found that his eyes kept straying up over the menu to fall on Victoria. He couldn't believe the way she looked, as if all his wildest dreams of the perfect woman had just materialized before him, torturing him gently with her inspiring beauty. Vin had been many places in his thirty two years, and he had seen more than his share of attractive women, but nothing had prepared him for this. Never had any of the ladies he had been with in the past affected him so much or stirred up such a strong and urgent desire. Oh yes, Tanner, he told himself as he took a steadying breath, you've got it bad.
The conversation was kept light, everyone enjoying each other's company as the food was brought and dinner began. Only Vin, Chris and Buck seemed to be oddly quiet, both Buck and Chris exchanging knowing glances back and forth across the table throughout the evening.
"So when do you think we can have the church ready to open the school?" Mary asked Josiah.
"With all the help I have been getting, I would say by the end of the month at the latest. But maybe we should ask the teacher when she would like to start." He lifted his glass to Victoria in a salute.
"I would open tomorrow if I had the supplies and the students." She assured him with a laugh. "I didn't realize how much I would miss teaching until I quit to come out here."
"Have you always wanted to teach?" JD asked, reaching for the bottle of wine in the middle of the table and offering to refill her glass.
"Oh no, I wanted to be a dancer when I was ten, after my parents took me to see a ballet troupe in Springfield. Then when I turned fifteen, I informed everyone that I was going to be a trick rider and join a wild west show. And my last big ambition before setting my sights on teaching was to be a doctor."
"A lady doctor?" JD asked. "I never heard of any lady doctors."
"I don't suppose you have ever heard of any colored doctors either, JD, but I didn't hear you doing any complaining as I was pulling that knife out of your shoulder." Nathan pointed out, silencing any further skepticism.
"Well you probably won't for a while either since they just opened one of the first ladies colleges for medicine in New York only a few years ago. But when I heard about it, I was all fired up to pioneer the new field."
"What stopped you?" Mary asked, impressed by Victoria's admirable ambitions.
"I decided to volunteer as a assistant nurse at the local hospital, just to see if it was something I was cut out for, and I ended up in the children's ward. Well after a few months of spending every day with the children, I knew I wanted to teach. So I went to college, got my degree and started my first teaching assignment soon after. And the rest as they say, is history."
"Well we are glad that chance landed you in our little town. Maybe now things can begin to shape up around here and become a place to raise a family." Mary told her, getting a few words of agreement out of some of the men around her. "In fact I plan on writing Billy tomorrow and telling him that he can come home this fall and start school here."
"He will be thrilled to hear that." Josiah said, remembering how the little boy had not wanted to leave after his last visit. Once the nightmare that had surrounded the death of his father had been dealt with, the boy had begun to warm up to the town again, not to mention to a certain resident he admired.
"Well, in that case I better start looking for a new place to live. I can't very well stay in Billy's room if he is coming home to occupy it." Victoria concluded.
"But I don't want you to leave." Mary protested, realizing that she had enjoyed having her stay with her more than she knew. "We can work something out, you don't have to leave."
"No, I really should, I have a lot of things in storage back home that I want to bring out and I couldn't ask you to make room in your house for them." She reasoned. "Maybe I could rent one of the apartments at the boarding house till I find a suitable place."
"Believe me, Miss Victoria, you do not want to rent a room there." Ezra assured her, shaking his head.
"But most of you have rooms there." She reasoned, trying to see the logic in that.
"Exactly, and as a temporary tenant of said establishment, I would not recommend it to a lady. The place is full of low lives and drifters, present company excluded. You would not get a moments peace or a good nights rest."
"I agree, it is too dangerous you being out on your own like that, at least in this town." Chris said.
"But there has to be someplace, and I know I could not afford to stay in the hotel for too long." She was becoming concerned.
"I know where she can stay." Mary offered, a look of brilliance coming over her face. "I have that large storage room over the Newspaper Office that could be turned into a very nice apartment with no trouble at all. All I have up there now are a few pieces of old printing equipment and boxes of back newspaper issues. That way you will be out on your own, but still close enough so that I won't miss you."
"That sounds wonderful to me. But if we do this, you will have to let me pay rent." Victoria insisted.
"We will work something out." She assured her, figuring she could work her way around that later.
"Then it is settled." Chris was glad that she would not be moving too far out of Mary's protection, or his.
"We can get started on it tomorrow." Mary told her, eager to get Victoria settled in and into a regular routine so that she could start to call this her home instead of Illinois.
The dinner plates had just been taken away and the desert ordered when Victoria spoke up. Chris had noticed that for the last fifteen or twenty minutes, she had been unusually quiet and had seemed lost in her own thoughts instead of the conversation going on around her.
"Mary, you said the storage room was full of back issues of the newspaper. How far back do they go?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm not sure. My husband had been running the newspaper for at least a few years before I married him, so nine or ten that I know of. But I think I saw a few boxes from the first owner of the newspaper up there too." She guessed.
"Do you think there might be some that go back fourteen or fifteen years then." The hope in her voice was unmistakable.
"Could be. Why do you want to know, are you looking for something?" Mary was curious, as always.
Victoria was quiet for a second, running her finger around the top of her wine glass as if getting up the nerve to speak. And when she did, it was hardly above a whisper.
"Yes. I am looking for my past." She kept her eyes lowered when she spoke, so she didn't notice the reaction on Chris's face to her words. But Mary did, and she tried to keep her voice steady and normal when she spoke.
"Your past? What do you mean?"
Victoria looked up then, her eyes full of doubt and worry. Each person at the table was looking right at her, a mixture of concern and puzzlement showing on their faces, each waiting for her to go on. But did she dare? She had learned long ago that to reveal her secret was to open herself up to all different sorts of reactions. Some were kind, showing pity for the young girl, while others were not so kind, treating her like an outcast. That was why she decided long ago to keep her past to herself, telling only those who she could trust with her secret. Letting the rest of the world believe that she was born Victoria Ashford, flesh and blood daughter of Joshua and Emily. But looking around at those at the table, she suddenly felt that she had nothing to worry about. These men had proven themselves to be both trustworthy and honorable, and she couldn't imagine Mary being any less. So with a deep breath, she began her story.
"My desire to come out here didn't stem only from my dream of seeing the wild west, or to teach school like I told you before." She looked at Mary apologetically for misleading her. "The real reason I left my job in Illinois was to come west and find my missing past. You see, my name is not really Victoria Ashford, and I haven't a clue as to what my real name is. I have no memories of my early childhood. I don't even know exactly how old I am. They said that near as they could figure, I looked about six or seven when they found me and just went from there."
Mary looked down at Chris' hands as she said this, noticing that they were gripping the arm of the chair with such ferocity that his knuckles were turning white.
"Who is they?" Nathan asked, deep concern showing in his face.
"Joshua and Emily, who later adopted me and raised me as their own. They had come west to try their hand out here, realized it was not what they expected and were heading back east with a wagon train when they found me. They said that I just wandered in one night while everyone was sitting around the fire they had built inside the circled wagons, passing everyone by like they didn't exist and collapsed in Emily's arms. They had no idea where I had come from or how long I had been lost and wandering, but from the shape I was in, they didn't think I would have lasted another day out there alone. I had a deep cut above my right ear and was severely dehydrated and ended up sleeping for two days before they said I started to improve. By the time I woke up and they realized I had no memory they were too far away from where they found me to go back. So they let the wagon train go on without them and stayed in the next town for almost a month, letting me recuperate and doing all they could to find out who I was. They sent letters to all the nearby towns and ranches hoping someone had reported me missing, but no one knew of any missing children, and if they did, I didn't fit the description. So with their money running low, they did the only thing they could, the headed back to Illinois and took me with them."
"Must have been pretty tough, growing up without a past." Ezra told her, placing his hand over hers on the table in support.
"At times, but Joshua and Emily were wonderful. They took me to at least a dozen doctors trying to see if they could help me get my memory back. But nothing worked, some said that the loss was due to the damage to my head that left the scar, while others said I was mentally blocking out my past because something very traumatic must have happened. Either way, they didn't hold out much hope of my ever remembering so I resigned myself to that fate and went on as best as I could. And after a while the nightmares and headaches went away too." She looked over at Buck where he sat with an unreadable expression. "The episode I had when we were out riding the other day was the first one I have had like that in almost ten years. I just hope my coming west and searching doesn't cause them to start up again."
"You said you had nightmares too?" Buck questioned. "Do you remember anything from them? Anything that might help you remember who you are?"
"No, nothing. I get only feelings, no pictures linger after I wake up. The only thing I have to go on is that Joshua and Emily found me in the middle of no where just west of Clifton."
Chris did some quick figuring, that was almost thirty miles from Razors Bluff where the stage coach had gone over. Could she have walked all that way, wounded and delirious, until she came to the passing wagon train? He remembered what a strong willed little girl she had been and decided that it could be possible.
"So you are hoping to find some new leads, an old article about a missing child that may help you to find out who you were?" Josiah asked. "If the doctors were right, and you are suppressing something tragic enough to make you lose your memory, are you sure you want to find out. Sometimes the past is best left hidden." He spoke these words as if he envied the girl's loss of memory.
"I have considered it, thought about it long and hard. But I feel that not knowing is worse than anything I may find out." She looked at Mary with anxious eyes. "So would it be all right if I looked through the boxes up there as we clean it out?" She then got a sudden look of fear. "Or has what I just told you about myself made you change your mind about me living up there?"
"Heavens no!" Mary was quick to reassure her. "You have no reason to worry about that, no one here thinks any less of you Victoria. Who you are is not based on a few missing years, it is what you become that counts, and I for one am proud to call the woman you have become a friend."
Each other person at the table also made comments to that effect, reassuring her to the point that she thought she might start to cry out of sheer relief.
"Thank you all. I can't tell you how relieved I am, and it feels wonderful to tell someone after so long of keeping it bottled up inside. I have more hope now of finding my past than I ever have." She rewarded each of the men with a smile that warmed their hearts.
But the warm feeling around the table was interrupted just then by shouts from outside and all their heads turned as a man rushed inside the restaurant and began to shout.
"The saddle shop is on fire!" He called, alerting all the patrons inside.
Chairs were overturned at the speed in which the seven men got up and ran for the door, followed closely by Victoria and Mary. When they reached the saddle shop it was almost half engulfed in flames and seemed to be spreading fast. And to everyone's horror they could hear people yelling from inside.
"Let's get some help over here! The Martins are still inside!" Chris yelled at the people just staring at the fire as he took off his jacket, plunging it in the water trough nearby before putting it back on.
"What are you going to do?" Mary yelled over the noise of the fire and gathering crowd.
"Someone has to get them out!" He signaled for Vin to come over. "You get a bucket brigade going here, keep the flames back and from spreading as long as you can."
Vin looked from the blazing inferno back to Chris.
"Be careful." He said, his few words conveying all his respect for his friend.
Chris turned to go, but was held back by the grip Mary had on his sleeve. He turned to face her terror stricken eyes and gave a slight smile. Then before he realized what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed her deeply, not allowing himself to think past the moment to the possibility he may not come out alive.
Mary was surprised at first, but then she reached up and pulled him closer to her, not wanting to let him go. This was horrible timing for a first kiss, but she would take what she could get at the moment, because a moment was all they had.
Chris and Mary parted, and without a word he turned and ran into the building, shielding his face from the intense heat as he disappeared from their view.
Victoria came up and put her arms around Mary.
"He will be all right. I may not know him well, but he seems like a man who can handle any situation." She tried to comfort her shaking friend, but there was no way Mary was going to take her eyes off of where Chris had just disappeared until he returned.
Vin organized a line of buckets from one of the water troughs to the front of the saddle shop while Buck and Josiah got another one going to wet down the buildings next to them for fear they catch on fire as well and it spread through the entire town. Nathan had run to the clinic to get some emergency supplies for when Chris brought the people out, while Ezra and JD were on pump duty, frantically yanking up and down on the handle fast enough to fill the awaiting buckets.
Everyone was in an uproar, either swinging buckets from one person to the other till it reached the front of the line where Buck, Josiah and Vin would throw it on the unrelenting fire, or hurrying to get things as far away from the blaze as possible so it wouldn't add to it. But Mary was not seeing any of it, she stood paralyzed with her heart in her throat waiting for a glimpse of Chris.
Victoria wanted to stay with Mary, but she saw that the bucket line could use more people on it, especially when Vin had to run back several feet to grab the next bucket before turning and throwing it on the fire. So leaving Mary's side with a final word of encouragement she ran to the front of the line and grabbed the next bucket coming up and held it out to Vin.
Vin had just tossed the last of the water in the bucket he was holding and spun around to grab the others when he saw Victoria offering him the next full one. The flames from the fire behind him were mirrored in her fearful eyes, and the heat was strong enough to turn her face red, but still she didn't waver. She was a gutsy girl, no doubt about it, Vin thought. The kind of woman any man would like to have at his side in a crisis, the kind of woman Vin wanted. And with a wink and a smile, Vin took the bucket from her and set back to work.
It was a cry from Mary that alerted them to Chris' return from the blazing hell. He held a woman around the waist with one arm, supporting her weight, and a young boy under his other arm as the three of them came stumbling out towards the street. Vin and Buck rushed forward and took them from him, laying them down on the ground a safe enough distance away as Nathan appeared by their side. But Chris didn't follow, instead he turned and went right back inside, much to the horror of Mary.
"Chris!" She screamed, rushing forward a few steps as he disappeared once again.
"My husband! My husband is still in there!" Mrs. Martin was yelling as Nathan tried to calm her down long enough to examine her.
Vin looked over at Buck and the two of them ran back to their posts, working all the more frantically trying to keep the flames at bay in order to give Chris a fighting chance. It seemed forever before movement was seen at the door once again. This time he had a man with him, one arm draped over Chris's shoulders as he half carried half dragged him from the fire.
"Get back! Get back!" Chris yelled, signaling with his free hand as he tried to get away from the blaze.
Vin didn't stop to ask questions, but instead turned and herded the people away from the building. He knew enough about Chris to know that when he took the time to say something, you best listen. The crowd began to scatter, putting as much distance between the blaze and themselves as they could.
Vin had his hand on Victoria's back, urging her forward, as the two headed away when there came a loud explosion behind them, the force of it sending a wave of heat blasting against his back. Vin grabbed Victoria around the waist and threw her to the ground, landing on his side to take the brunt of the fall, then rolling over on top of her as a human shield just as an arsenal of flaming boards and embers came showering down all around them.
When the sound of falling debris subsided, Vin pushed himself up onto his knees and gently pulled Victoria up into his arms.
"Are you all right?" He asked, fear like he had never known gripping at him.
Blinking a few times to clear her head she looked up at him.
"I am now." She smiled, watching the look of panic in his eyes lesson. She could stay right there in his arms forever and never want for a single thing, but she quickly remembered Chris and sat up and looked around.
"Chris!" She yelled, seeing him and the man he had been carrying lying still on the ground a few feet back from them.
Vin was up and at his side in a second, rolling him over carefully as both Victoria and Mary appeared beside him. Chris gave a low groan, indicating that he was still among the land of the living, but they could see a red stain growing on his side and more blood seeping from a gash on his forehead.
"Nathan, get over here!" Vin called, laying Chris back onto Mary's lap while he looked at the man beside them. He too coughed, letting them know he was alive.
Nathan ran up and assessed the damage to both men and started giving orders.
"Buck, you and Josiah carry Chris to the clinic, I need to get a better look at his wounds. The rest of you get back to fighting this fire." He then grabbed a few others from the crowd to help him get the Martin family over to the clinic as well.
Mary followed right behind, but Victoria was torn once again. She wanted to stay with Vin, but she knew Nathan could use some help with as many patients as he had. But as if reading her mind, Vin make the choice for her.
"Go with Chris." He nodded, giving her arm a gentle nudge in the direction they had gone.
Victoria took a few steps backwards, reluctant to turn away from him.
But in the end, practicality won out and she spun and ran off towards the
clinic.
Four Corners Chronicle
'Wanted' page
