Special Note: I'd like to thank Amy and Sondra for all their help in getting me past my writers block and for being the best betareaders and brainstorming partners a writer could ask for. Thanks guys! I love you!

Josiah hated the rain. If there was anything that reminded him of the duality of God, it was that elemental water. If the Lord didn't give you enough, you'd die of thirst or drought. If He gave too much, then you'd drown. And, Josiah thought, if I can't even figure out what to make of it, how can I expect anyone else to? I'm just as lost as they are.

"Now, Josiah. You may be lost but at least you know it. That's more'n I can say for the rest of us."

Josiah was startled by Nathan's voice. He hadn't realized he had been thinking aloud. They were sitting at their usual table in the saloon, both waiting for the rain to let up so they could make it back to their rooms without getting very wet. Josiah would have gladly braved the rain but the young doctor had warned him against catching sick. He had yet to recover from a recent gunshot wound and it wouldn't be wise to risk infection of any sort.

"So, Josiah, you gonna tell me what's got you so spooked", Nathan asked.

The rain, Josiah's thoughts screamed. However, he didn't envy the look that answer would've drawn. He grabbed his hat and coat from the back of his chair and slowly stood up. "Something wicked, Nathan, And I don't want to be around when it gets here. I'd recommend you make yourself scarce as well. Good day, doctor." Then Josiah was gone, leaving Nathan shaking his head in confusion.

The girl had been riding for the better half of the week when she finally got to Four Corners. It's about damn time, she thought, peering through the pouring rain to look at her surroundings. It was a pissant little town from what she could see. Just a couple of beat-up buildings linked together by a boardwalk. She scanned the signs on the buildings, quickly spotting the hotel. She thought about getting a drink but realized the saloon wasn't the best place for her until she found what come to town for in the first place. She drew her horse up to the hitching post and quickly dismounted. After tethering the filly to the hitching post, she strode confidently into the building.

Buck was sitting behind the front desk when the scrawny man walked in from the rain. He'd been watching the desk for Alison Stevens, the beautiful daughter of the hotel's newest owner. She'd taken off on a little jaunt with her beau and had asked Buck to take over her post. He'd only been too happy to oblige. He knew that when Alison's daddy found out her boyfriend was a stable boy, he'd make her quit seeing him. And, of course, Buck would be there to offer a sympathetic ear... and hand.

"I need a room for a few days", the man said. He laid a five dollar piece on the counter in front of Buck. "Will that be enough?"

Buck jumped out of his chair and snatched up the piece.

"Of course, that's enough." Enough for the room and some. He turned and grabbed one of the room keys from the pegboard behind him and handed it to the man.

"Room twelve, up the stairs. Last door on the right. You need a hand with your bag?"

The man took the key from Buck, letting their fingers touch. It was then that Buck realized the too small man was actually a very well-built woman. He was so preoccupied with the view as the woman sashayed up the stairs that he failed to hear her parting words.

"No thanks but you can keep the change, sweetie."

Her name was Cassie and she'd come to Four Corners searching for the man who had changed her life. As she changed into a dry nightgown she thought of him. He'd left her a long time ago to the mercy of the very evil he was running from. She'd survived that evil but he wouldn't, not if it took her until her dying breath to make sure of that. He'd said he'd loved her, that he'd protect her. He had lied and she had the bruises and bad dreams to prove it. Now, he was going to pay... with his life. These thoughts and the rhythm of the rain beating on her window, soon had Cassie falling into a deep sleep, with a smile on her face.

Ezra had seen bad poker players before but none as horrible as the poor gentleman sitting across from him. The man had lost a total of ten dollars in less than an hour and still seemed hell-bent on winning his money back. Even when Ezra had attempted to throw a hand or two, the man still managed to lose.

I'm beginning to feel guilty, Ezra thought. He had to smirk at that. Associating with the honorable Mr. Larabee seems to be making an honest man out of me. Ezra shook that thought from his mind. The day I become an honest man is the day I hang it up for good.

"I see you a dollar and raise you half, Mr. Simpson."

Ezra had had enough. "Well sir, I'll have to call. It's getting late and I must get some rest."

He stood up as the man showed him a pair of queens. "Sir, you've been a good opponent but you are just far too skillful a player for me. I only had a pair of tens." He grabbed his hat and walked out the door, making sure to mess up the cards when he walked by the table. JD Dunne, who was watching the game, followed quickly behind.

"Ezra, what's gotten into you", he asked as they walked down the boardwalk to the hotel. "You could've beaten that guy. You're losing it, aren't ya?"

Ezra laughed at the boy's naivete in the situation.

"JD, JD, when are you ever going to learn? Your innocence is so amusing at times."

JD had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from hauling off and wiping the smug smile off Ezra's face. Then it dawned on him...

"You let him win, didn't you Ezra", JD asked, amazed. When Ezra nodded, JD grinned.

"But why? You aren't going soft on us, are ya?"

Ezra stopped in his tracks, so quickly JD had to turn around and walk back a few steps. Ezra put his head close to JD's and whispered conspiratorially. "I felt sorry for the man. I probably make more in a week doing this than he does in a month. Besides, he's a gambler. He would have spent the money was supposed to use to buy sugar for his wife. I'm not a bastard, JD. But, I'd appreciate if you kept this little secret between us, ok?"

JD just laughed and nodded as they turned the corner and walked into the hotel.

"Oh, Ezra. It's days like this when I miss Mamma the most."

It was Cassie's fourteenth birthday. She and Ezra had snuck away from the farmhouse to have a celebratory picnic at their secret hideaway by the lake. If there was one thing about the miserable place in Virginia that Cassie liked, it was the lake. The stillness of the water and the green of the trees gave her comfort. When she was here, she felt safe and like nothing in the world could hurt her.

"Yes, I know you do, dear sister. It's a tragedy that she probably doesn't even remember what today is."

Cassie looked hard at her brother as he lay on the grass, gazing at the sky. What the hell is the matter with him, she wondered. He'd been acting strangely for weeks now. She'd first noticed it one day while they were doing their chores. While she was cleaning the stalls in the stable, she'd glanced at him and caught him staring at her with an odd look in his eyes. She'd asked him what was wrong but he had said nothing and turned away from her. But not before she caught the glistening of the tears in his eyes. There had been other things that had made her wonder. His open defiance against the elders of the house. The hiding of the money from the poker games he was to have given to Mr. Cadwell. Even when he'd been caught, the skinny seventeen-year-old had managed to punch the much larger man in the face before he was knocked unconscious. A cold chill struck Cassie even though they were sitting in the hot sun.

"Cassandra, do you want your present or not?"

Cassie snapped out of her thoughts. Ezra was digging in his knapsack for something. Cassie giggled and bounded to her feet.

"Of course I do! What is it?"

Ezra blocked her view when she tried to peer over his shoulder, trying to catch a look at what he had in the bag.

"Stop peeking or I'll take you over my knee, girl."

Cassie laughed. She covered her eyes with her hands, leaving a space between her fingers so she could cheat. "Fine, there. Are you happy now?"

Ezra got to his feet and walked over to her.

"Sister, you are utterly incorrigible." He handed her a brightly wrapped package and watch her tear the paper as eagerly as a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

"My Lord, Ezra. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

He'd given her a music box. She knew, then, that this was the reason he had hidden that money from Mr. Cadwell. He'd taken a beating for her, so that he could give her the best birthday present she had ever received. Cassie threw her arms around Ezra, so fast he had to dodge the music box to keep from getting whacked in the head.

"I love you so much, Ezra."

Cassie waited for his response but it never came. When she opened her eyes, Ezra was nowhere to be found. She turned circles in the field, calling his name. Where had he gone? Why had he left her? What had she done to deserve this?

"Ezra!, Ezra, please", she pleaded. "Please, don't leave me!"

Ezra looked up from the book he was reading and strained to hear. He could have sworn someone had called his name but with the pounding of the rain... My mind is playing tricks on me. Ha, I'd say in was my conscience if I had one. Anyway, my conscience definitely does not have such a feminine sound to it. Ezra turned back to his book only to be startled out of his skin by Buck barging into his room.

"Ezra, did you hear that?"

Ezra burst into laughter at the sight of Buck in his long underwear. Buck looked puzzled then blushed violently when he realized what he was wearing.

"Aw hell, Ezra! Ain't you even seen a man in his skivvies before?"

Ezra collapsed onto his bed, laughing until he cried. When he'd composed himself enough to talk without cracking again, he said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilmington. It's just that you frightened the wits out of me and then seeing you in..." He paused, cracking a grin.

"You laugh again Ezra and I'll knock your teeth out."

Ezra suppressed another smirk.

"Did you hear it, Ezra? Someone hollering your name. At first, I thought you might have had some company up here but whoever it was didn't sound too happy." Buck watched Ezra as his friend's face turned white.

"You did hear it then."

Ezra nodded. He grabbed his pants off the chair and struggled to put them on.

"Buck, go make yourself decent. I thought I had imagined it but obviously someone is in trouble. We need to search the hotel and find whoever it was. I don't think the scream came from outside."

Buck grabbed Ezra's arm as he reached for the Derringer on the bureau.

"No need to go on a wild goose chase. Only one woman in the hotel. She checked in earlier tonight. Room twelve. It was strange because she was dressed in men's clothes. I only noticed her when she walked up the stairs, if you know what I mean."

Ezra turned a cold stare on Buck.

"Even in a time like this you... never mind. Let's go check on the woman." Then he turned on his heel and left Buck standing in the room, dumbfounded.

Cassie had just settled back into bed when there was a knock on her door. Great, she thought. The last thing she needed was attention, especially when it was unwanted. She grabbed her gun off the nightstand and walked cautiously across the room.

"Yes?"

She checked the lock on the door, making sure it was secure. If her visitor wasn't friendly, she didn't need him busting through the door. She was a skilled enough markswoman but if he got that close to her she was certain she wouldn't have her hands on her gun for long.

"Ma'am, my name's Buck. I checked you into your room earlier." Even though the voice was low and muffled, Cassie recognized it as belonging to the handsome man who had been sitting behind the front desk when she had first arrived at the hotel.

She relaxed a bit, uncocking the hammer of her gun.

"What is it, sir? I'm sorry if I have disturbed you. I suffer from bad dreams and am quite embarrassed when they disrupt the slumber of others."

"Well ma'am, if that's all it is-" His voice trailed off and Cassie could hear him whispering urgently to what sounded like another man. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying so she cocked her gun again and stepped back from the door. She didn't want to get hit if they tried to break their way through the flimsy piece of wood. She aimed the gun at the door and hoped she was in the general vicinity of the part she believed the stranger treasured most.

"Ma'am my name is Ezra Smith. I know this must sound strange but I could've sworn that..."

Cassie's heart leapt into her throat. It can't be! There is no earthly way that man is my Ezra. She wasn't ready for this. She'd always planned on surprising him. Seeing the look on his face. But, she had never imagined that he would just show up, literally on her doorstep, after all these years. Now, with the moment she had been waiting for finally upon her, all thoughts of revenge fled her brain and her heart took over. She carelessly laid her gun down and flew to the door, tearing at the lock. It seemed to take forever but she finally managed to get the blasted thing open and then...

"Oh my dear Lord! Ezra, is that you?"

... she was, once again, in her beloved brother's arms.

Ezra awoke with a crick in his neck and a stiff back. After they'd gotten Buck to pick his unshaven jaw up off the floor and leave the room, he and Cassie had stayed awake talking until dawn. He'd fallen asleep in the only chair in the room. Ezra grinned as he looked down at his sister, who was sound asleep. She always did sleep like the dead, he thought.

She lay face down on her bed, feet and fingers dangling over the edges. Her pillow was over her head, leaving only a glimpse of the reddish strands of her shoulder length hair. Ezra felt tears form in his eyes when a wave of familiarity came upon him. Cassie had slept like that when she was a child, as had he.

God, how he'd missed her! Having her around during those years, while their mother was traipsing all over creation, had kept him from going insane or from just ending it all on the business end of a hangman's noose. She had been his anchor for so long and he'd been lost without her. Ezra had just begun to find that sense of belonging and purpose again after he had joined the others in helping the people of Four Corners but now.... now he was whole again!

It had broken his heart to leave her in Virginia. He didn't even give her a chance to talk him out of it because he knew that she would've succeeded or, at least, persuaded him to let her go with him. He couldn't allow that, though. He had to get out of there, to make them a better life. He knew that leaving her with the Cadwell's was the lesser of two evils. He knew what they were capable of... what he didn't know was what might be laying in wait for two basically innocent teenagers. Ezra wasn't about to sacrifice Cassie's life like he was sacrificing his own. As he stared at his little sister, now all grown and as beautiful as he remembered, he made a silent plea with God that she understood that.

"Chris, I swear I wasn't drinking last night."

Chris Larabee shot Buck a look from under the brim of his ever-present black hat.

"Ok, ok, but it wasn't enough to make me so pie-eyed that I'd imagine something as beautiful as that."

Chris laughed and shook his head. He'd known Buck to tell some tall tales before but nothing this elaborate and easily disputed. He'd been enjoying a quiet, if slightly hung-over, cup of coffee with Vin when Buck came tearing into the restaurant. He'd spouted off with some story about Ezra having a sister who had just arrived in Four Corners. And, of course, she was the most gorgeous woman Buck had ever seen.

"Well, I guess anything's possible", Vin said, cracking a lopsided grin. "I mean, wolves can have more than one pup, right?"

Chris nearly spewed his coffee out his nose. "You better not let Josiah hear you say that about Maude."

Buck slammed his hand on the table. "Fine! Y'all don't believe me. But all I have to say is I saw her first." He flopped back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. Vin and Chris met each others' eyes and burst out laughing.

"Buck", Chris said. "Don't you think Ezra would've told us he had a sister?"

Buck shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I don't know, Chris. They both seemed awful shocked when she opened that door."

Vin downed the last of his coffee and mulled that thought over in his head. Lord knew it couldn't be the worst secret Ezra, or any of the rest of them for that matter, had kept hidden from the others. Little did he know it was probably the one secret that could get them all killed.

Cassie finished buttoning her dress and gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. She wasn't looking her best after only four hours sleep but it would have to do. Ezra had had Buck show her to the bath house after she'd insisted on bathing before meeting his friends. She may have dark circles under her eyes but she would not smell like a goat in the presence of polite company. Then again, how polite could they be if they were friends with Ezra?

No, Cassie thought. That isn't fair. She knew that judging someone before you really knew them was wrong. After all, how many times had people automatically assumed she was some kind of whore because she rode with Jasper Hawkins?

"Too many", she whispered, answering her own question. Besides Buck seemed perfectly nice. He was rambunctious, sure. But he seemed very tender-hearted and kind under that swaggering bravado. Cassie knew that she liked him despite the outward arrogance. It was endearing in some odd way.

"Cassie, are you dressed?"

Cassie turned toward the door of the bath house, recognizing Ezra's voice. This was it. Strangely, she felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. The old feelings of not measuring up to the standards of others crept back to her from some dark place. She had thought she had locked them away.

"Come in", she called out to her brother. She turned back to the mirror and steeled herself for his reaction to her apparel, wondering if she shouldn't have chosen to worn the red dress instead of the blue.

She watched from the reflection in the mirror as Ezra came into the room. He looked handsome as ever in his auburn jacket, white shirt, pinstriped black pants and black boots. The ensemble was topped off by a black hat, which he now held in his hands. She turned around to meet his gaze.

"Wow", they said in unison and then burst into laughter. Cassie felt her feelings of dread fade.

Ezra brushed his hand through his hair and smiled.

"You look beautiful, Cassandra. The boys are in for quite a treat. Shall we go?" He extended his arm, bent at the elbow, and Cassie took it. She felt a surge of triumph at having Ezra's approval but fought it down with a slight scowl. Stupid, she cursed herself. Don't let him sweet-talk you. You're supposed to hate him, remember? She remembered. Boy, did she remember.

Cassie was amazed at the contrast between her brother and the other six men who stood waiting for them on the porch of the jail. A young man with jet black hair, obviosuly no older than twenty-three. To the right of him, a negro who had the biggest and brightest smile she'd ever seen. She couldn't help it when she returned the smile. Standing on one of the steps, a tall man clad only in black save for a colorful pancho thrown over one shoulder. Leaning against a post was Mr. Wilmington, grinning like a crazy man. Cassie felt her step falter when her gaze met that of the next man. He was older than the rest. Taller than any man she had ever seen. He stared at her coldly. Almost as if she'd just killed the thing he cherished most. Quickly, she looked away from him at the next man. It seemed to take her mind forever to register the sight she was seeing. The buckskin pants and coat were exactly the same. The hair was a bit darker and longer and the jaw was as unshaven as the last time she had seen him. But, she knew who the man was from his eyes. Those eys met hers with the same startled look Cassie knew her eyes held as well.

"Vin", she cried out with a mixture of delight and shock. She broke loose from Ezra's light grasp with ease and ran the last couple of feet straight into the comfortable and well-known embrace of Vin Tanner.