The seven men entered the Sheriff's office. Chris had a trail of blood coming from the wound on his neck, which had reopened after Vin hit him on the head. He didn't appear to feel the pain, though, as he was led to a chair.
J.D. walked over to his desk and sat down. Ezra and Vin stood by the door, and the others stood silently.
"You know I've seen a few of family reunions in my time, but that was definitely the most interesting." Vin's voice was extremely sarcastic. Chris just looked at him, then got up to leave. Before he could get all the way to his feet, Buck put a hand on his chest.
"Sit down." Buck's voice was deadly serious, but Chris didn't back down. "Sit down, Chris!" The men in the room didn't know what to expect. In the saloon, Chris had been ready to kill Buck.
The gunfighter sat down, not letting his eyes come off of Buck's.
"Now, for the second time. You wanna explain what the hell is goin on?! If I'm gonna have a gun pulled on me, I like to know why!" Bucks last sentence came out harshly. He stared Chris in the eyes.
"I told you. An acquaintance." Chris' voice was still rough, and it seemed to J.D. that more blood came out of his wound when he talked. He figured it wasn't his imagination when Nathan spoke up.
"As much as I'd like to know as well, Chris, you are in no shape to be talking. I have to re-stitch that neck." Chris got up from his chair and walked to the door. As he walked out, he gave Buck a look that meant they'd finish this later. Nathan followed him out of the building, and they walked towards the clinic.
"Those men back there don't know if they trust you anymore." Nathan spoke to the gunfighter.
"They never should have in the first place."
J.D. looked at the remaining men in the room. Buck looked very upset. J.D. had to admit that he was shaken. Back in the saloon, Chris had been totally out of control. J.D. was sure he'd been like that before, but it was his first time seeing him like that.
"Anybody else think that we should talk to James?" Josiah asked the group.
"Good idea." Ezra answered.
"Wait. Do you all think that we should be getting into Chris' life. It's personal." J.D. wasn't sure he felt right butting into someone like Chris' life.
"If he's this out of control, I don't think we have a choice." Vin got up and walked to the door. "James is still in the Saloon. Let's go." J.D. followed reluctantly.
The group walked down the street without a word. Things had been quiet lately, but now that quietness they all disliked was gone. As they entered the Saloon, James was seated at one of the tables. He had a wet rag on his forehead. As they approached, he pulled it away, revealing a small round black bruise in the shape of a pistol chamber.
"Is he okay?" James voice was shaking, and he was still visibly off-edge.
"It's odd that you care." Ezra was curious.
"Well, of course I am. He's my son, ain't he?"
Vin sat down at one of the chairs at the table, while the rest remained standing. J.D. hung in the back, not wanting any part in it.
"Coulda fooled me." Ezra's drawl was filled with a mixture of concern and humor.
Jmaes looked at the men for a few seconds. "I take it that Christopher never mentioned me. I'm not surprised."
Vin tried hard not to laugh. He could only imagine what Chris would do if he heard one of the six call him 'Christopher'. "Mr. Larabee, do you know why Chris a attacked you?"
James looked Vin in the eye. "No, I don't." Buck walked up and sat beside his friends father.
"Now, Mr. Larabee, Chris may be a tough man, but we all know that he would never attack a man for no reason, especially his own blood. Now, would you like to tell us the truth?" Buck looked James in the eye. The older man bowed his head slightly, and stayed silent for a few seconds. The others waited patiently. Ezra, Vin, and Josiah sat down, while JD edged closer, unable to let go of his curiosity. As JD looked at the man, he realized that this was the father of a very dangerous gunslinger. A gunslinger that had just tried to kill his own father in front of at least 6 witnesses. It was bound to be a good story.
James put his head down and mumbled something under his breath. Ezra, who was sitting the closet to the old man, heard it, almost. He hoped he hadn't heard right. "What?!" James then told the whole story.
When Chris was 10 years old, James Larabee had beaten his wife almost to death one night when he had come home drunk. Chris had heard the whole thing. The next morning, Chris had carried his mother out to their wagon, and had taken her to a new town, and they had started over. It had been hard on Chris, he never had many friends because he was trying to help his mother. James vanished without a trace, and no one even thought he was still alive. They never saw him again. Until today.
Chris Larabee walked through the door of his rented room, and went over to the window. Gazing out to the street, he saw Buck walking towards the saloon. The man was going slowly, and Chris had the feeling he was looking for someone. Going away from the window, he sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.
His throat had been throbbing day, and now that Nathan had re-stitched the wound, it hurt more. He could feel the pull of flesh every time he turned his head in any direction.
Chris closed his eyes when there was a knock on his door. Lifting his head but not getting up, he stared at the closed door, trying to decided if he really wanted to deal with whoever it was. Sighing, he got up, blood rushing to his head, making it throb more. Walking the short distance to the door, he flung it open.
"Yeah?" Chris asked his guest.
"Mr. Larabee, I think you need to come to the Saloon. Buck wants to talk to ya."
"Alright Ezra." Chris followed the man out of the room and onto the streets below. As they made the short walk to the saloon, they were silent. People rushed around them, doing their own things, while some cast glances in the two men's direction. Especially those who had heard about the events in the saloon that morning, and a lot had. Just before entering, Ezra stopped and turned to face Chris. Their eyes met. Chris saw sympathy in them.
"I don't blame you. I would have done the same thing." Ezra turned and walked into the saloon. Chris remained out side the saloon for a few seconds, staring out at the people on the street. He suddenly felt a rush of anger flood over him. His father had probably told the whole story. He wondered how may knew. Quickly he shoved the door open and rushed inside, straight towards the bar where six men sat. James was not there, causing relief to flood through Chris. If he had been there, Chris would have been tempted to attack him again.
The guys all looked up at the silence that once again signaled Chris' arrival. The man walked to the table and sat down in an empty chair. The bartender came over and placed a bottle of whiskey on the table. Chris looked at the bottle, then poured himself a little. Ezra did the same.
"Where's James?" Chris couldn't help but ask. He hoped they would tell him James had left town.
"He left. We told him it would be a good idea, and he agreed." Buck said slowly. He watched as a small smirk formed on Chris' face.
"Good." Chris began to stand up, when he was stopped by a Vin placing a hand on his shirt. Chris looked at the hand, then to Vin, who pulled it away. "Chris, you still haven't told us who shot you."
Chris Larabee slowly sat back down. He guessed he better tell them, before Taylor came back. "His name's Vince Taylor. We ran into each other about 4 months ago. I killed his brother and father while they were trying to hold up a bank. I guess he finally tracked me down."
Ezra stared at Chris. "Wait, I've heard of this guy. Didn't he kill that family over in Texas a few years back? Over some debt or something."
Chris nodded. "Yeah, that's him." Just then, as JD was about to ask more about this Taylor fellow, gunfire filled the afternoon air.
