Sitting in the dirt, Avery wiped the sweat and ash from his forehead. He had joined the group who was trying to put out the fire of the burning store. They were lucky to have caught it in time before it spread to the nearby woods. The elderly couple had been found and told their side of events to the sheriff of Redrock.
He hadn't seen the men that he had been traveling with since he left the brothel. They didn't offer a hand in putting out the flames, but it didn't matter to him, he preferred that they weren't around. Everyone who had spent the night putting out the flames was resting nearby to make sure the fire didn't start back up, it had done so once before already.
Those who knew each other were speaking, and Avery was left to sit in the dirt by himself. He took his hat off and held it in his hands for a moment, while he ran his hand through his sweat moistened hair.
"Water?" A soft voice asked him, holding a tin cup in her small hands.
Avery looked up at the dark haired woman with pale skin, she smiled at him as he took the cup from her. Swallowing down the liquid, he gave the cup back to her, and offered his thanks.
"You aren't from around here, are you?" She asked, as a gentle breeze blew her dark brown dress and braided hair to the side.
"No, ma'am, I am not." He responded, and looked across the way to the burning ambers that had once been a store. He wonder who could be so cruel to an elder couple like this and take away their lively hood.
"You are a lawman?" The woman asked, and he brought his attentions back to her.
Avery nodded, "Yes, ma'am, I am."
She smiled, "Not a man of many words, are you? Where are you from, sheriff?"
"Honeycomb, it's a small town to the north, a good distance away."
She pointed at the spot beside him, "May I sit here?"
"Yes, ma'am."
As she sat down, she set her water bucket beside her. She pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to him. "Honeycomb, huh? What an strange name for a town."
"Was named after the nearby ranch." Avery told her, taking the handkerchief from her and wiping down his face. Her offered it back to her, and she told him to keep it.
"What brought a small town sheriff like you to this sin filled city?" She asked folding her hands onto her lap.
He smiled, "A woman, she was kidnapped and we are tracking down the men who took her. They are suppose to be coming here."
"Oh." She seemed disappointed for a moment, and then it vanished, "A friend?"
"We grew up together in Honeycomb." He told her, he didn't know why he didn't say she was his fiancé. Something about the look of disappointment in her eyes earlier had clenched at his heart.
"What's her name?"
"Nicolette Beldin." He told her.
She smiled, "My name is Nicole Maclean, what a coincidence."
He nodded, "Indeed. Well since I know your name now, it's only fitting that you know mine. Avery Devlin." He grinned. After he spoke, he almost hit himself in the forehead, he called himself Avery.
"Nice to meet you Mister Devlin."
"Most people call me Robert." He told her.
Nicole smiled, "Why? Avery is such a nice name."
Avery grinned, "Thank you, ma'am."
"So, tell me about this friend you are trying to find."
"Nicolette and I grew up together, like I already said. Her mama was a school teacher there in Honeycomb, taught most people there to read and write."
Nicole smiled, "A school teacher, huh? That's what I want to be, but nobody wants to learn here. Most kids go to school cause their parents want them out of their hair. People in Honeycomb, wanted to learn?"
He chuckled, "Well, Misses Beldin didn't take no for an answer, and everyone knew better then to not do as she said. At least, that is what my pa always told me. I didn't know her all that well, she died after Nicolette was born."
She frowned, "Sorry to hear that, sounds like a beautiful town to come from. I always wanted to move to a small town and start teaching."
"Our school house has been closed for over twenty years. We haven't been able to find another teacher."
"Nicolette didn't take over her mother's work?"
He shook his head, "No, I wish she did. Nicolette always went her own way, and when I say that she went the way of her father. Became a rancher."
"A rancher? A woman?"
Avery smiled, "Yes, ma'am. Way I heard things, she was a mighty fine rancher too. Wish I would have seen that instead…" He stopped himself from speaking.
Nicole grinned sympathetically, "Sounds like you got some regrets, Mister Devlin."
"Don't we all." He played with the hat in his hand, then ran the handkerchief over his hair.
"I should get back to passing out water." Nicole said as she stood up, "Nice meeting you, Mister Devlin." She smiled, as she picked up the water bucket and tin cup. Taking several steps away from him, she stopped and turned back to him. "My mother owns the clothing shop over yonder," She pointed down the street, "I work there too. You could stop in for a new shirt or pants sometime."
Avery have a quick nod, "I just might, Miss Nicole. Thank you."
"Need help getting down?" Rock asked.
Nick frowned at him, "As if I couldn't jump down two feet."
He shrugged, "Was only trying to be a gentleman."
She smiled at him, as she jumped down and headed over towards Tate. He was chewing on a piece of hay as she approached and tossed it out of his mouth, when he noticed her.
"Took you long enough."
She folded her arms, "I was scrubbing the floor, I told you that I would be done in a while. Now what is it that you want?" She realized then that Tate's hair was wet and not tied back. Instead it fell over his shoulders, while it air dried. His brown hat was still atop of his head, though it looked a little moist, as if he had tried to rinse it out.
"I wanted to talk to you about what we are doing." Tate said standing up straight.
"What about it?" She kept her arms crossed expecting an argument.
"It's not too late to quit now, after all Brody doesn't know that we are the ones yet. We could just ride away…"
"You sound like Rock." She snapped, "It is too late to quit, Tate. I'm here, and I have a plan. One that we already put into motion. We are going to make that man suffer for what he did to my family, and what he has done to others. Don't you want him to pay for what he did to your friend?"
Tate nodded, "I do, but I think maybe if we went and lived that dream you were talking about. You know all of us working on a ranch together, maybe then it wouldn't matter anymore."
Nick shook her head as he spoke, "No, Tate. That man is not going to live a luxurious life after what he has done. He isn't going to die of old age in a nice soft bed!" She yelled, and kicked the dirt beneath her. "He took everything from me, and he is going to pay for it!"
Grabbing her upper arm, he shook her twice. "Nick, listen to yourself. Is this really who you want to be? Is this what Nick a year ago would of thought she would be doing and saying?"
Yanking herself out of his grasp, she smack his hands away when he tried to grab her again. "You didn't know me back then, don't tell me what I would think of myself. Nick back then had a family, but she's gone now! I want this man to suffer, and if you are too much of a coward to go through with this then you can leave! I won't stand in your way! But we are doing this!"
Tate nodded his head, "Alright, Nick. No need to get yourself all upset, I just wanted to make sure you had really thought this through. It is going to get more dangerous every time we head back into town for another job. Sooner or later Brody is going to figure this out, and he'll have men watching out for us." He took his hat off and place it against his chest, "If you really want to live that dream with the ranch with a new family, then we have to be careful. There is more at stake…"
"I know, Tate. This isn't going to be easy for any of us, but someone needs to make that man pay. No one else will, so we have to."
He breathed in deeply, before letting out a loud sigh. "I really don't think you know what is ahead of us. You are going to see things that will be burned into your nightmares the rest of your life, Nick. Things that might change how you see your friends and yourself forever."
Nick nodded, "I prepared to endure the pain if Brody gets his as well." With that she headed towards the creek, she wanted to wash her hair as well. She had told Natalie before she left that she would be doing so.
He watched her disappear into the woods, and grinned to himself. At least she was the type to stick by her decisions, and now he knew she wouldn't easily be persuaded to change her mind. The road ahead of them was going to be a tough one, and he needed to know that she was willing to walk it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try to protect her from herself though.
"Still wants to finish the job, does she?" She asked, he was a little surprised that Natalie knew what he wanted to talk to Nick about. Then again, Natalie always knew what was on his mind.
He gave a nod, then looked at Rock. "It's our job to make sure Nick suffers the least amount of sin, Rock."
Rock stood from hammering some nails into the newly formed stairs. "I'll do my best."
"As a woman, she just wouldn't be able to deal with it." Tate told him, and then looked at Natalie as she snorted.
"Sure, Tate, that's the reason you want to protect her, because she's a woman." Natalie said sarcastically. "She's killed before…"
"She's killed to protect before." Tate corrected, "There is a difference between shooting a man who is trying to kill you, and shooting a man who is begging for his life, Natalie!" He looked back towards Rock, "Where is Andy? I need to talk to him."
"In the barn with the horses." Rock told him and watch him disappear around the cabin, his eyes went back to Natalie, "What did you mean?"
"About what?"
Rock looked embarrassed for a moment, "About him wanting to protect Nick."
"Oh, because Tate's got a little thing for our Miss Nicolette."
"A little thing?" He asked, as he kneeled down to pick up more nails from the bucket. He didn't want to seem jealous, but Natalie saw it.
"Ah, maybe I said too much." She cleared her throat, "You and Nick are, uh, more?"
Rock shook his head, "Once, but now we are just friends." He was trying to tell himself that, but it just didn't sound like the truth.
"Sounds like that wasn't your choice."
"It was." He began to hammer again, and stopped when he felt Natalie's hand on his own. He looked up at her kneeling on the porch, holding the hammer. Sitting back, he sighed. "Cheated on her with a girl from town. Nick just understood me too well, and I wanted to make her leave."
"And she did, didn't she?"
He nodded, "Just because I can't have her, doesn't mean your damn dirty brother can. Murderer like him, doesn't deserve a woman like Nick."
Natalie bit her lower lip, there was no one she was going to let this man get in the way. In all the years she had known her brother, she had never seen him look at a woman the way he looked at Nick. She knew that this was a once in a life time chance for him, and no one was going to get in his way.
She smiled at Rock, "That's a sad story, Rock. Why don't we go out into the woods for a while?"
He rose an eyebrow, "Why?"
Seductively, she smiled again and jumped down off the porch, heading towards the woods. "I don't normally do this for free, but I feel bad for you."
Standing up, Rock looked around, and when he was certain no one was watching him, he threw down the hammer to chase after Natalie.
"Where is everyone?" Nick asked him, as she entered the moldy scented barn.
Andy shrugged his shoulders, "T-t-tate came in here a half hour ago, t-then left. T-that's the last I s-saw of him." He looked over at Nick's wet hair, she was shivering with her arms crossed. "Cr-cr-creek cold?"
"Freezing." She smiled, "I should of just washed my hair not jumped in."
Andy chuckled, "C-c-could of just done like T-t-tate did and stuck your h-head into the water tr-trough over there."
Nick looked at the horse's water trough and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I could of covered my head with horse spit. Figures that what he would do, disgusting man."
He continued to laugh, "G-glad that's what you th-think of him."
Raising her eyebrow, she went to stand closer to him, "What is that suppose to mean?"
Andy shrugged, and continued to brush Goliath.
"No, tell me what you meant, Andy."
Swallowing, he looked at Nick out of the corner of his eye, "I just m-meant, well, seems T-tate has more on his m-mind then the job. I just want to make s-s-sure you don't get h-hurt by 'em."
"More on his mind then the job? You mean me?"
He nodded, "Now, N-nick, I know that you are your own w-woman and you'll like who ya w-want, but I just think…" He stopped to see if she would interrupt him, but she didn't. "I just think that he's a b-bad seed, and you s-should make it known to him t-that you are too g-good for a man like that."
Nick nodded her head slowly, which surprised Andy. "You are right, Andy. He already knows though, so you don't have to worry yourself over it."
He stopped brushing the horse, and looked down towards the hay on the ground. "I love ya like my s-s-sister, Nick. And I see you s-starting to look at him the same w-way he does y-you. I don't w-want to see ya get hurt by h-him. Just please, do me a f-favor and st-stay away from him wh-whenever possible."
"You are right, Andy, you are right." Nick patted his shoulder, "Pa would be outraged if he saw me being sweet on a man like Tate." She sucked on her inner cheek, while she thought for a moment, "Thanks for looking out for me, Andy. I mean I already knew what you said, but its good to hear it come from someone else."
He frowned when he saw the hurt look on her face, "Other m-men out there, Nick. Wh-when all this is over, and w-we get away from h-here, it'll be just like Honeycomb. You'll see, no m-man can resist Nick in her S-sunday's best."
Nick smiled, and leaned forward kissing Andy on the cheek. "Right, Andy. I should get back to cleaning the cabin." She went to turn around and then stopped herself, "Oh yeah, Natalie is gone too." She looked at her horse, "But her horse is still here."
"S-so, Rock and Natalie are missing… I w-wonder what that could m-mean." Andy jested.
Nick frowned, "Tate is too."
"Yeah, but T-tate is Natalie's br-brother. Natalie is a p-pretty face and R-rock is, well, Rock." Andy chuckled, as Nick blushed and ran out of the barn.
Tate had been on the other side of the barn door and had listened to everything that had gone on between Andy and Nick. Anger entered his heart. How dare that stuttering bastard saying anything about him! Tell Nick to stay away from him, and damn it all to hell, she agreed!
Storming into the barn, Andy grinned at him.
"H-hey, Tate. N-nick was looking…" He stopped speaking when he noticed the heated expression on Tate's face.
Tate grabbed Andy by the collar and shoved him into the wall, "Listen here, you back stabber, you don't get in my way, understand? Telling Nick to stay away from me, I outta shot you in the head right now for that."
"C-c-c-calm d-d-d-down, T-t-tate." Andy was stuttering uncontrollably, but was still trying to be brave. "T-th-this is th-the r-reason w-hy I t-told h-her…"
Tate let go of him, and patted down his shirt. It had suddenly hit him what he was doing, he already knew that Nick wouldn't want anything to do with a man like him. Andy was his friend at least for now, he was just looking after Nick. "It's alright, Andy."
Andy swallowed, and took several breathes trying to calm himself down.
"You were right." He wanted to apologize but the words wouldn't come to him. "I shouldn't of attacked you like that. Don't… don't tell Nick, alright?"
He nodded his head, watching the hurt in Tate's eyes.
"My bad temper." Tate told him, he cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He went to learn.
Andy grabbed his arm, "T-tate, she's better off."
Tate nodded, "Yeah, I really didn't think anything was going to happen anyway." He said as he yanked his arm from Andy's hand, and left the barn.
Outside the barn, he pushed himself against the wall and took a deep breath. He hadn't even thought of what he was doing, and had all of a sudden found himself threatening to kill Andy. That's exactly the reason that Andy had warned her off him to begin with. Tate was unpredictable, and there was no telling when he would turn on his friends. Now, he understood why Nick had agreed with Andy, and he agreed now as well.
Shaking her head gently, she knew this wasn't the time to be troubled about such things. They were on their way to another job, and she needed her mind clear. Andy and her were burning a stable down this time, and had toyed with the idea of allowing the horses to burn inside. Andy wouldn't hear of it, and their job was made all the harder having to clear the horses out.
Tate had looked upset when he pulled the name from his hat for their kill that evening. She was certain that he knew the man by the way he had asked to pull another name, then changed his mind. She wondered who this Christopher Thomson was, and more importantly why Tate would be hurt to kill him. From everything she told him, he didn't have any friends left in Redrock.
It came time for them to go their separate ways, Rock had gotten over whatever it was that had bothered him during their last job. He was prepared to go with Tate again, even though Andy had offered to take his place. They said their farewells, as Nick and Andy rode off together.
"Think they'll be alright?" Rock asked him.
Tate gave a short nod, "She's a smart gal, they'll figure it out."
Both turning their horses, they slowly road towards the Glasses and Garter's Brothel. He knew that Chris would be around the area, as it has often been his job to watch the streets at night. It had been a long time since he had been part of Brody's gang, so he wasn't sure if Chris still did so. If he knew his friend, then Chris was a creature of habit, and only changed when he was forced to do so.
"Tate?" Rock grabbed his attention away from his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Our last job… he didn't have any guns, and you shot him in the back when he was running away."
Tate nodded, "Yes, I did. He needed to die. You don't get it do you, Rock? Every man that has worked or does work for Brody are ugly, dirty murders. It may look like I killed that man in cold blood, but I promise you that he has done far worse."
"Jacob, Nick's pa, always told me to never shoot a man in the back. It's dishonorable." Rock looked up towards Tate, who was staring off in the distance.
"It is dishonorable, just be glad you didn't pull the trigger when I ordered you to."
Rock sighed, "I'm not as clean as Nick thinks I am." The words came suddenly, and Tate looked over at him wondering what the man wanted to say. "Before I came to the ranch, my family was murdered just like Nick's and just like Andy's. They know that something bad happened to them, but they don't know the whole story. After they murdered my family and looted our home, I came home and found them all dead. I past them on my way home, so I knew they weren't far. I chased them down."
"You kill 'em?"
"I surprised them when they were sleeping, lined them up on their knees and shot them all in the back of the head, one at a time." Rock was playing with the reigns between his fingers, "Andy and Nick, they ain't killers like that, and I want to make sure they stay that way. You and me, we got bad blood on our hands. Blood that will never wash off, no matter what. Understand what I am trying to say, Tate?"
"I do, and I will try my damnedest to make sure Nick doesn't end up like us."
Rock grinned, "Good."
There was a moment of silence as they continued to ride forward, both thinking over their conversation. "She's more then a sister to ya, ain't she?" Tate finally asked.
"Yes, she is. That's why I don't want her to know about my past regrets. And that's why if you go near her again, I'll kill you."
Tate didn't say anything to his threat for some time, just stared off ahead of him. "Don't threat me, boy." He finally said, his voice low and cold, "After this is through, you and I will settle this like men, but until then we should only be thinking about finding Nick some peace of mind."
Rock swallowed, "I'm not fighting for her, Tate. I already know where I stand with her, but I can already see what you would do to her. That ain't going to happen, you ain't going to hurt her like I did."
Biting his inner cheek, Tate thought for a moment, picking his words wisely. "I ain't going to fight for her either, I just said it cause you threatened me. I know where I stand too, and I reckon it's in the same boat as you."
"Then we have nothing to argue over." Rock said, and Tate agreed with a nod.
It was finally quiet, and Tate walked out into the street and near the light of the brothel. Chris was the only one on the outside, and glared down at him, not the bit surprised to see Tate standing there.
Tate pointed down the street, "Meet me in the alley over yonder."
Chris gave him a nod, "Should I bring my guns?"
"Think you should." Tate told him, as he walked back into the darkness.
They stood in the dark between the two buildings, as Chris walked towards them. He said nothing as he came to a stop in front of them, only crossed his arms. Tate had his hands on his hips, and spit near Chris' foot as the moment's past.
"You have something to do with Albert's death?" Chris asked, when the silence became too much for him.
"Yeah." Tate answered.
"And the burning of the old man's store?"
Again Tate answered with a 'yeah.'
Chris nodded his head gently, "This what you are doing? Taking out the big men one at a time so you can get to him."
"Yeah." Tate said once more.
Slowly, Chris kicked the dirt underneath his boots. "So, I gave you the chance to get away before, you going to do the same for me?"
"If it hadn't been for my partners I wouldn't of made it out alive." Tate told him, and crossed his own arms.
Rock listened to the calm words that were spoken between the men, his eyes bouncing back and forth as each spoke. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but had been suspicious about this man since Tate had been so reluctant to do the job. It was obvious to him now that the men had once been friends, though he wondered how deep that friendship would go. Would he betray Nick's trust, right here in front of him for his old friend?
"Still, I gave ya a fair chance." Chris retorted.
Tate agreed, "Get on your horse, right now, and ride away. Don't you ever come back to Redrock, just keep riding 'til you hit ocean. Got me?"
Chris sighed, "I can't do that, Tate. I'm not the kind of man you are. Besides, Brody ain't paying us until we catch you…" He watched Tate pulled out some money from his belt pouch.
"A hundred dollars, just leave." Tate's worn hand held the money out to him.
His old friend look down at the money, "If you fail in this, I'll be a wanted man, Tate."
"Ain't no way that I'm going to fail."
Chris looked into Tate's determined eyes though he could hardly see them in the dark. With a deep breath he made up his mind, and reached out his hand to take the money from him, "I reckon I better get while then getting is good then. Bye, Tate, I doubt our paths will cross again."
"Take care of yourself." Tate responded, watching his friend walk away. As soon, as Chris was out of sight, he heard the cries that another fire had been started. He looked at Rock immediately, and they both ran towards their horses. They needed to get out of the city quick, before anyone took notice of them.
He hadn't seen the men that he had been traveling with since he left the brothel. They didn't offer a hand in putting out the flames, but it didn't matter to him, he preferred that they weren't around. Everyone who had spent the night putting out the flames was resting nearby to make sure the fire didn't start back up, it had done so once before already.
Those who knew each other were speaking, and Avery was left to sit in the dirt by himself. He took his hat off and held it in his hands for a moment, while he ran his hand through his sweat moistened hair.
"Water?" A soft voice asked him, holding a tin cup in her small hands.
Avery looked up at the dark haired woman with pale skin, she smiled at him as he took the cup from her. Swallowing down the liquid, he gave the cup back to her, and offered his thanks.
"You aren't from around here, are you?" She asked, as a gentle breeze blew her dark brown dress and braided hair to the side.
"No, ma'am, I am not." He responded, and looked across the way to the burning ambers that had once been a store. He wonder who could be so cruel to an elder couple like this and take away their lively hood.
"You are a lawman?" The woman asked, and he brought his attentions back to her.
Avery nodded, "Yes, ma'am, I am."
She smiled, "Not a man of many words, are you? Where are you from, sheriff?"
"Honeycomb, it's a small town to the north, a good distance away."
She pointed at the spot beside him, "May I sit here?"
"Yes, ma'am."
As she sat down, she set her water bucket beside her. She pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to him. "Honeycomb, huh? What an strange name for a town."
"Was named after the nearby ranch." Avery told her, taking the handkerchief from her and wiping down his face. Her offered it back to her, and she told him to keep it.
"What brought a small town sheriff like you to this sin filled city?" She asked folding her hands onto her lap.
He smiled, "A woman, she was kidnapped and we are tracking down the men who took her. They are suppose to be coming here."
"Oh." She seemed disappointed for a moment, and then it vanished, "A friend?"
"We grew up together in Honeycomb." He told her, he didn't know why he didn't say she was his fiancé. Something about the look of disappointment in her eyes earlier had clenched at his heart.
"What's her name?"
"Nicolette Beldin." He told her.
She smiled, "My name is Nicole Maclean, what a coincidence."
He nodded, "Indeed. Well since I know your name now, it's only fitting that you know mine. Avery Devlin." He grinned. After he spoke, he almost hit himself in the forehead, he called himself Avery.
"Nice to meet you Mister Devlin."
"Most people call me Robert." He told her.
Nicole smiled, "Why? Avery is such a nice name."
Avery grinned, "Thank you, ma'am."
"So, tell me about this friend you are trying to find."
"Nicolette and I grew up together, like I already said. Her mama was a school teacher there in Honeycomb, taught most people there to read and write."
Nicole smiled, "A school teacher, huh? That's what I want to be, but nobody wants to learn here. Most kids go to school cause their parents want them out of their hair. People in Honeycomb, wanted to learn?"
He chuckled, "Well, Misses Beldin didn't take no for an answer, and everyone knew better then to not do as she said. At least, that is what my pa always told me. I didn't know her all that well, she died after Nicolette was born."
She frowned, "Sorry to hear that, sounds like a beautiful town to come from. I always wanted to move to a small town and start teaching."
"Our school house has been closed for over twenty years. We haven't been able to find another teacher."
"Nicolette didn't take over her mother's work?"
He shook his head, "No, I wish she did. Nicolette always went her own way, and when I say that she went the way of her father. Became a rancher."
"A rancher? A woman?"
Avery smiled, "Yes, ma'am. Way I heard things, she was a mighty fine rancher too. Wish I would have seen that instead…" He stopped himself from speaking.
Nicole grinned sympathetically, "Sounds like you got some regrets, Mister Devlin."
"Don't we all." He played with the hat in his hand, then ran the handkerchief over his hair.
"I should get back to passing out water." Nicole said as she stood up, "Nice meeting you, Mister Devlin." She smiled, as she picked up the water bucket and tin cup. Taking several steps away from him, she stopped and turned back to him. "My mother owns the clothing shop over yonder," She pointed down the street, "I work there too. You could stop in for a new shirt or pants sometime."
Avery have a quick nod, "I just might, Miss Nicole. Thank you."
---***---
Nick walked out of the cabin, and looked down at Rock who was replacing the wooden steps up to the porch. Beside him was Boss, who was still tied to the porch with a rope. Tate had come in and asked to speak with her alone, so she surveyed the area to find him. He was standing over near the gathering of trees in the distance."Need help getting down?" Rock asked.
Nick frowned at him, "As if I couldn't jump down two feet."
He shrugged, "Was only trying to be a gentleman."
She smiled at him, as she jumped down and headed over towards Tate. He was chewing on a piece of hay as she approached and tossed it out of his mouth, when he noticed her.
"Took you long enough."
She folded her arms, "I was scrubbing the floor, I told you that I would be done in a while. Now what is it that you want?" She realized then that Tate's hair was wet and not tied back. Instead it fell over his shoulders, while it air dried. His brown hat was still atop of his head, though it looked a little moist, as if he had tried to rinse it out.
"I wanted to talk to you about what we are doing." Tate said standing up straight.
"What about it?" She kept her arms crossed expecting an argument.
"It's not too late to quit now, after all Brody doesn't know that we are the ones yet. We could just ride away…"
"You sound like Rock." She snapped, "It is too late to quit, Tate. I'm here, and I have a plan. One that we already put into motion. We are going to make that man suffer for what he did to my family, and what he has done to others. Don't you want him to pay for what he did to your friend?"
Tate nodded, "I do, but I think maybe if we went and lived that dream you were talking about. You know all of us working on a ranch together, maybe then it wouldn't matter anymore."
Nick shook her head as he spoke, "No, Tate. That man is not going to live a luxurious life after what he has done. He isn't going to die of old age in a nice soft bed!" She yelled, and kicked the dirt beneath her. "He took everything from me, and he is going to pay for it!"
Grabbing her upper arm, he shook her twice. "Nick, listen to yourself. Is this really who you want to be? Is this what Nick a year ago would of thought she would be doing and saying?"
Yanking herself out of his grasp, she smack his hands away when he tried to grab her again. "You didn't know me back then, don't tell me what I would think of myself. Nick back then had a family, but she's gone now! I want this man to suffer, and if you are too much of a coward to go through with this then you can leave! I won't stand in your way! But we are doing this!"
Tate nodded his head, "Alright, Nick. No need to get yourself all upset, I just wanted to make sure you had really thought this through. It is going to get more dangerous every time we head back into town for another job. Sooner or later Brody is going to figure this out, and he'll have men watching out for us." He took his hat off and place it against his chest, "If you really want to live that dream with the ranch with a new family, then we have to be careful. There is more at stake…"
"I know, Tate. This isn't going to be easy for any of us, but someone needs to make that man pay. No one else will, so we have to."
He breathed in deeply, before letting out a loud sigh. "I really don't think you know what is ahead of us. You are going to see things that will be burned into your nightmares the rest of your life, Nick. Things that might change how you see your friends and yourself forever."
Nick nodded, "I prepared to endure the pain if Brody gets his as well." With that she headed towards the creek, she wanted to wash her hair as well. She had told Natalie before she left that she would be doing so.
He watched her disappear into the woods, and grinned to himself. At least she was the type to stick by her decisions, and now he knew she wouldn't easily be persuaded to change her mind. The road ahead of them was going to be a tough one, and he needed to know that she was willing to walk it. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try to protect her from herself though.
---***---
Tate walked back up to the cabin, seeing Natalie on the porch talking with Rock, he frowned as he approached. Natalie returned the unhappy expression, and then grinned at him."Still wants to finish the job, does she?" She asked, he was a little surprised that Natalie knew what he wanted to talk to Nick about. Then again, Natalie always knew what was on his mind.
He gave a nod, then looked at Rock. "It's our job to make sure Nick suffers the least amount of sin, Rock."
Rock stood from hammering some nails into the newly formed stairs. "I'll do my best."
"As a woman, she just wouldn't be able to deal with it." Tate told him, and then looked at Natalie as she snorted.
"Sure, Tate, that's the reason you want to protect her, because she's a woman." Natalie said sarcastically. "She's killed before…"
"She's killed to protect before." Tate corrected, "There is a difference between shooting a man who is trying to kill you, and shooting a man who is begging for his life, Natalie!" He looked back towards Rock, "Where is Andy? I need to talk to him."
"In the barn with the horses." Rock told him and watch him disappear around the cabin, his eyes went back to Natalie, "What did you mean?"
"About what?"
Rock looked embarrassed for a moment, "About him wanting to protect Nick."
"Oh, because Tate's got a little thing for our Miss Nicolette."
"A little thing?" He asked, as he kneeled down to pick up more nails from the bucket. He didn't want to seem jealous, but Natalie saw it.
"Ah, maybe I said too much." She cleared her throat, "You and Nick are, uh, more?"
Rock shook his head, "Once, but now we are just friends." He was trying to tell himself that, but it just didn't sound like the truth.
"Sounds like that wasn't your choice."
"It was." He began to hammer again, and stopped when he felt Natalie's hand on his own. He looked up at her kneeling on the porch, holding the hammer. Sitting back, he sighed. "Cheated on her with a girl from town. Nick just understood me too well, and I wanted to make her leave."
"And she did, didn't she?"
He nodded, "Just because I can't have her, doesn't mean your damn dirty brother can. Murderer like him, doesn't deserve a woman like Nick."
Natalie bit her lower lip, there was no one she was going to let this man get in the way. In all the years she had known her brother, she had never seen him look at a woman the way he looked at Nick. She knew that this was a once in a life time chance for him, and no one was going to get in his way.
She smiled at Rock, "That's a sad story, Rock. Why don't we go out into the woods for a while?"
He rose an eyebrow, "Why?"
Seductively, she smiled again and jumped down off the porch, heading towards the woods. "I don't normally do this for free, but I feel bad for you."
Standing up, Rock looked around, and when he was certain no one was watching him, he threw down the hammer to chase after Natalie.
---***---
Andy was brushing down Goliath, when Nick came inside the barn. She hadn't seen Rock or Tate since she got back from the creek. The old barn was barely standing, and the horses had to be tied inside as the stalls were broken. Rose's horse looked like it was about to drop dead where it stood, it's back hunch downwards, and several of it's teeth were missing."Where is everyone?" Nick asked him, as she entered the moldy scented barn.
Andy shrugged his shoulders, "T-t-tate came in here a half hour ago, t-then left. T-that's the last I s-saw of him." He looked over at Nick's wet hair, she was shivering with her arms crossed. "Cr-cr-creek cold?"
"Freezing." She smiled, "I should of just washed my hair not jumped in."
Andy chuckled, "C-c-could of just done like T-t-tate did and stuck your h-head into the water tr-trough over there."
Nick looked at the horse's water trough and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I could of covered my head with horse spit. Figures that what he would do, disgusting man."
He continued to laugh, "G-glad that's what you th-think of him."
Raising her eyebrow, she went to stand closer to him, "What is that suppose to mean?"
Andy shrugged, and continued to brush Goliath.
"No, tell me what you meant, Andy."
Swallowing, he looked at Nick out of the corner of his eye, "I just m-meant, well, seems T-tate has more on his m-mind then the job. I just want to make s-s-sure you don't get h-hurt by 'em."
"More on his mind then the job? You mean me?"
He nodded, "Now, N-nick, I know that you are your own w-woman and you'll like who ya w-want, but I just think…" He stopped to see if she would interrupt him, but she didn't. "I just think that he's a b-bad seed, and you s-should make it known to him t-that you are too g-good for a man like that."
Nick nodded her head slowly, which surprised Andy. "You are right, Andy. He already knows though, so you don't have to worry yourself over it."
He stopped brushing the horse, and looked down towards the hay on the ground. "I love ya like my s-s-sister, Nick. And I see you s-starting to look at him the same w-way he does y-you. I don't w-want to see ya get hurt by h-him. Just please, do me a f-favor and st-stay away from him wh-whenever possible."
"You are right, Andy, you are right." Nick patted his shoulder, "Pa would be outraged if he saw me being sweet on a man like Tate." She sucked on her inner cheek, while she thought for a moment, "Thanks for looking out for me, Andy. I mean I already knew what you said, but its good to hear it come from someone else."
He frowned when he saw the hurt look on her face, "Other m-men out there, Nick. Wh-when all this is over, and w-we get away from h-here, it'll be just like Honeycomb. You'll see, no m-man can resist Nick in her S-sunday's best."
Nick smiled, and leaned forward kissing Andy on the cheek. "Right, Andy. I should get back to cleaning the cabin." She went to turn around and then stopped herself, "Oh yeah, Natalie is gone too." She looked at her horse, "But her horse is still here."
"S-so, Rock and Natalie are missing… I w-wonder what that could m-mean." Andy jested.
Nick frowned, "Tate is too."
"Yeah, but T-tate is Natalie's br-brother. Natalie is a p-pretty face and R-rock is, well, Rock." Andy chuckled, as Nick blushed and ran out of the barn.
Tate had been on the other side of the barn door and had listened to everything that had gone on between Andy and Nick. Anger entered his heart. How dare that stuttering bastard saying anything about him! Tell Nick to stay away from him, and damn it all to hell, she agreed!
Storming into the barn, Andy grinned at him.
"H-hey, Tate. N-nick was looking…" He stopped speaking when he noticed the heated expression on Tate's face.
Tate grabbed Andy by the collar and shoved him into the wall, "Listen here, you back stabber, you don't get in my way, understand? Telling Nick to stay away from me, I outta shot you in the head right now for that."
"C-c-c-calm d-d-d-down, T-t-tate." Andy was stuttering uncontrollably, but was still trying to be brave. "T-th-this is th-the r-reason w-hy I t-told h-her…"
Tate let go of him, and patted down his shirt. It had suddenly hit him what he was doing, he already knew that Nick wouldn't want anything to do with a man like him. Andy was his friend at least for now, he was just looking after Nick. "It's alright, Andy."
Andy swallowed, and took several breathes trying to calm himself down.
"You were right." He wanted to apologize but the words wouldn't come to him. "I shouldn't of attacked you like that. Don't… don't tell Nick, alright?"
He nodded his head, watching the hurt in Tate's eyes.
"My bad temper." Tate told him, he cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He went to learn.
Andy grabbed his arm, "T-tate, she's better off."
Tate nodded, "Yeah, I really didn't think anything was going to happen anyway." He said as he yanked his arm from Andy's hand, and left the barn.
Outside the barn, he pushed himself against the wall and took a deep breath. He hadn't even thought of what he was doing, and had all of a sudden found himself threatening to kill Andy. That's exactly the reason that Andy had warned her off him to begin with. Tate was unpredictable, and there was no telling when he would turn on his friends. Now, he understood why Nick had agreed with Andy, and he agreed now as well.
---***---
Nick had noticed that Tate had stopped speaking with her, though she had tried to make conversation with him several times. She wondered if Andy had spoken to him as well about the happenings between her and him. Anger grew in her chest as they rode down the dirt path that evening, her eyes glared over at Andy. It was one thing to talk to her about it, but a completely different thing to say anything to Tate.Shaking her head gently, she knew this wasn't the time to be troubled about such things. They were on their way to another job, and she needed her mind clear. Andy and her were burning a stable down this time, and had toyed with the idea of allowing the horses to burn inside. Andy wouldn't hear of it, and their job was made all the harder having to clear the horses out.
Tate had looked upset when he pulled the name from his hat for their kill that evening. She was certain that he knew the man by the way he had asked to pull another name, then changed his mind. She wondered who this Christopher Thomson was, and more importantly why Tate would be hurt to kill him. From everything she told him, he didn't have any friends left in Redrock.
It came time for them to go their separate ways, Rock had gotten over whatever it was that had bothered him during their last job. He was prepared to go with Tate again, even though Andy had offered to take his place. They said their farewells, as Nick and Andy rode off together.
"Think they'll be alright?" Rock asked him.
Tate gave a short nod, "She's a smart gal, they'll figure it out."
Both turning their horses, they slowly road towards the Glasses and Garter's Brothel. He knew that Chris would be around the area, as it has often been his job to watch the streets at night. It had been a long time since he had been part of Brody's gang, so he wasn't sure if Chris still did so. If he knew his friend, then Chris was a creature of habit, and only changed when he was forced to do so.
"Tate?" Rock grabbed his attention away from his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Our last job… he didn't have any guns, and you shot him in the back when he was running away."
Tate nodded, "Yes, I did. He needed to die. You don't get it do you, Rock? Every man that has worked or does work for Brody are ugly, dirty murders. It may look like I killed that man in cold blood, but I promise you that he has done far worse."
"Jacob, Nick's pa, always told me to never shoot a man in the back. It's dishonorable." Rock looked up towards Tate, who was staring off in the distance.
"It is dishonorable, just be glad you didn't pull the trigger when I ordered you to."
Rock sighed, "I'm not as clean as Nick thinks I am." The words came suddenly, and Tate looked over at him wondering what the man wanted to say. "Before I came to the ranch, my family was murdered just like Nick's and just like Andy's. They know that something bad happened to them, but they don't know the whole story. After they murdered my family and looted our home, I came home and found them all dead. I past them on my way home, so I knew they weren't far. I chased them down."
"You kill 'em?"
"I surprised them when they were sleeping, lined them up on their knees and shot them all in the back of the head, one at a time." Rock was playing with the reigns between his fingers, "Andy and Nick, they ain't killers like that, and I want to make sure they stay that way. You and me, we got bad blood on our hands. Blood that will never wash off, no matter what. Understand what I am trying to say, Tate?"
"I do, and I will try my damnedest to make sure Nick doesn't end up like us."
Rock grinned, "Good."
There was a moment of silence as they continued to ride forward, both thinking over their conversation. "She's more then a sister to ya, ain't she?" Tate finally asked.
"Yes, she is. That's why I don't want her to know about my past regrets. And that's why if you go near her again, I'll kill you."
Tate didn't say anything to his threat for some time, just stared off ahead of him. "Don't threat me, boy." He finally said, his voice low and cold, "After this is through, you and I will settle this like men, but until then we should only be thinking about finding Nick some peace of mind."
Rock swallowed, "I'm not fighting for her, Tate. I already know where I stand with her, but I can already see what you would do to her. That ain't going to happen, you ain't going to hurt her like I did."
Biting his inner cheek, Tate thought for a moment, picking his words wisely. "I ain't going to fight for her either, I just said it cause you threatened me. I know where I stand too, and I reckon it's in the same boat as you."
"Then we have nothing to argue over." Rock said, and Tate agreed with a nod.
---***---
They watched Chris standing in front of the Glasses and Garter's Brothel. Tate was going to wait until the street was cleared and then approach him, he knew Chris would come with him. Though Rock wasn't certain why their target would be willing to come along, he trusted Tate enough to agree to his plan.It was finally quiet, and Tate walked out into the street and near the light of the brothel. Chris was the only one on the outside, and glared down at him, not the bit surprised to see Tate standing there.
Tate pointed down the street, "Meet me in the alley over yonder."
Chris gave him a nod, "Should I bring my guns?"
"Think you should." Tate told him, as he walked back into the darkness.
They stood in the dark between the two buildings, as Chris walked towards them. He said nothing as he came to a stop in front of them, only crossed his arms. Tate had his hands on his hips, and spit near Chris' foot as the moment's past.
"You have something to do with Albert's death?" Chris asked, when the silence became too much for him.
"Yeah." Tate answered.
"And the burning of the old man's store?"
Again Tate answered with a 'yeah.'
Chris nodded his head gently, "This what you are doing? Taking out the big men one at a time so you can get to him."
"Yeah." Tate said once more.
Slowly, Chris kicked the dirt underneath his boots. "So, I gave you the chance to get away before, you going to do the same for me?"
"If it hadn't been for my partners I wouldn't of made it out alive." Tate told him, and crossed his own arms.
Rock listened to the calm words that were spoken between the men, his eyes bouncing back and forth as each spoke. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but had been suspicious about this man since Tate had been so reluctant to do the job. It was obvious to him now that the men had once been friends, though he wondered how deep that friendship would go. Would he betray Nick's trust, right here in front of him for his old friend?
"Still, I gave ya a fair chance." Chris retorted.
Tate agreed, "Get on your horse, right now, and ride away. Don't you ever come back to Redrock, just keep riding 'til you hit ocean. Got me?"
Chris sighed, "I can't do that, Tate. I'm not the kind of man you are. Besides, Brody ain't paying us until we catch you…" He watched Tate pulled out some money from his belt pouch.
"A hundred dollars, just leave." Tate's worn hand held the money out to him.
His old friend look down at the money, "If you fail in this, I'll be a wanted man, Tate."
"Ain't no way that I'm going to fail."
Chris looked into Tate's determined eyes though he could hardly see them in the dark. With a deep breath he made up his mind, and reached out his hand to take the money from him, "I reckon I better get while then getting is good then. Bye, Tate, I doubt our paths will cross again."
"Take care of yourself." Tate responded, watching his friend walk away. As soon, as Chris was out of sight, he heard the cries that another fire had been started. He looked at Rock immediately, and they both ran towards their horses. They needed to get out of the city quick, before anyone took notice of them.