The Truth Is Immortal (2/6) - Mag7/Highlander
Title: The Truth Is Immortal (2/6)
Author: strangevisitor7
Fandom: Magnificent 7 and Highlander
Beta: Much thanks to ithildyn
Prompt: #80 - Island for Crossovers100. My table is here
Rating: PG, Gen
Characters: HL: OFC Charlotte Sparrow (AKA Pearl Black); Mag7: Ezra Standish, Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Nathan Jackson and JD Dunne
Summary: During a gunfight Chris is hurt trying to protect Ezra not realizing that he is Immortal. Ezra is torn between telling the others about his Immortality and leaving town to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
A/N: This is the sequel to Child of My Heart.
A/N: Just a reminder: The Mag7 boys know Ezra's cousin Charlotte by her current alias: Pearl Black
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6
The Truth Is Immortal: Chapter 2
Chris tried to ignore the pain in his leg as Nathan stitched him up. Instead, he focused on the situation with Ezra.
Chris had been pleased with the way the seven of them had come together. Ever since his mother’s visit, it seemed that Ezra had allowed himself to become part of the group. At the same time, Chris had noticed an increase in the gambler’s risky behavior during their gunfights.
Did Ezra think he had to take chances and save everyone just to prove his worth to them? Unfortunately, it was that kind of lopsided thinking he expected from the stubborn southerner.
Nathan poked something that shot pain up his leg. “You almost done there,” he growled.
“Hold still,” the healer commanded, returning his focus to his stitching.
“Hurry up.” Chris looked across the room when he heard Vin chuckling. The tracker was leaning against the wall.
“What’s so funny?”
Vin shook his head. “Not like you gonna be walking out of here for awhile. Can’t be chasing Ez down just yet.”
Chris just glared at his friend. Sometimes it was unnerving they way Vin knew what he was thinking.
“Then go get him!”
“Not if you’re gonna lecture him. That ain’t gonna work.”
He needed to see Ezra and he suspected the man wasn’t about to visit any time soon. It had been weeks since Ezra had called him ‘Mr. Larabee’ and Chris was determined to talk to the gambler before the distance he’d sensed at the jail spiraled out of control. But Vin was right, a lecture would just cause the southern idiot to throw up walls while smiling that annoyingly insincere smile Chris hated.
On the other hand, Chris wasn’t all that comfortable when it came to having those big emotional conversations. That was more Buck’s thing. Or maybe … he smiled as he realized there was really only one person capable of talking sense into Ezra.
“You in the mood for pie, Vin?” he asked.
Vin nodded. “Yep I was thinkin’ pie might be good right now.” The tracker tipped his hat and exited the clinic.
Nathan stopped what he was doing. “What you want pie for? You shouldn’t eat anything that heavy for a while.”
“Pie ain’t for me.” Chris grinned at Nathan’s confusion. The healer shrugged and returned to his work.
**************************************************
Ezra escaped to his room above the saloon. Once inside, he removed his green jacket and examined the hole that Vin had remarked on. He sighed. There was no mistaking the tell tale signs of the rent for anything but a bullet hole. Now Vin was suspicious, which meant that Chris would soon be as well and Ezra had no rationalization that would explain how he had avoided being wounded.
He tossed the coat over the footboard before divesting himself of his guns. Removing his white dress shirt, he found a similar bloodstained hole in the shoulder. Angrily, he balled the garment up and tossed it on his dresser.
He selected a blue pinstriped shirt and red vest, focusing on redressing for an evening of gambling. A game was just the kind of neutral activity he needed right now. Ezra tried not to think of the disastrous events of the day, but his mind would not stop replaying the situation over and over again.
Eventually, he would have to talk to his companions. He didn’t want to face the accusations he was sure he’d see in their eyes that his reckless behavior had gotten their leader injured. He had no defense that wouldn’t confirm Buck’s statement that he had some kind of death wish.
When he’d first used his Immortality to save JD in a gunfight weeks back, he’d been so very proud of his actions. The knowledge that he had something positive to contribute had been a heady feeling. Now, this skill had become a curse. It had never dawned on him that anyone would ever put themselves in harm’s way for him.
As he finished buttoning his vest, he noticed his reflection in the mirror. Two months ago everything had changed, and yet, he looked the same. Inside he was a completely different person and not just because of his ability to heal.
He’d promised Chris he’d never run out again, but leaving seemed like the safest option. Ezra knew he couldn’t risk one of the others being killed because they thought they needed to save him from injury; the irony of the situation would be more than he could bear.
Fumbling with his tie, he finally gave up and flung himself onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling. He didn’t want to leave and that thought also surprised him. He’d found something steady here with friends and family, but like every other dashed dream, it hadn’t lasted.
Charlotte would be worried that he wasn’t ready and insist that he finish his training. But these newfound heroic impulses would not allow him to stand by and let his friends walk into danger when he knew he could do something about it.
It was all Charlotte’s fault! These maddening noble instincts had come from her. He longed to recapture that cold place in his heart that seemed to have receded since that first misguided adventure in the Seminole village and it had disappeared completely after he gained Immortality. He needed to cut himself off from those he cared about so that he could walk away before he got someone killed.
***************************
Ezra woke with a start to the sound of pounding on his door and the presence of another Immortal buzzing in his head. He wouldn’t have believed he could have fallen asleep with all the turmoil coursing through his brain, but even Immortal bodies needed time to recover from serious wounds.
“Ezra, I know you’re in there. Let me in.”
He sat up, rubbing his eyes and dragging a hand through his hair. What in the world was Charlotte doing here? Ezra wondered as he crossed the room. Pausing at the mirror he smoothed down his wrinkled clothing and straightened his wayward tie, before plastering on his most congenial smile as he opened the door.
“Cousin, to what do I owe this unexpected visit? Are the children all right?” Ezra asked, trying to hide the apprehension in his voice.
“The children at the ranch are fine, but it is the child in front of me that I am concerned about.” Charlotte pushed past Ezra and settled onto his bed. Patting the space beside her, she indicated that he should sit next to her.
Ezra shut the door but made no move to join his cousin. “I am no child, Lottie.”
“Then stop behaving like one,” Charlotte admonished. “Vin came to see me. He is worried - all you friends are - that you are taking ridiculous risks.”
“Vin came to see you?” Ezra couldn’t believe that his compatriots had stooped to calling in Charlotte to chastise him like a small child. He’d made a mistake, but he didn’t need his cousin interfering.
“He told me about what happened today.” Charlotte’s voice softened,
“About what you tried to do and how Chris was injured.”
Ezra refused to meet her eyes. “I hadn’t expected Chris to interfere.”
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s you friend!” Charlotte stood and walked toward him. She was about to reach for him when she noticed the bloody shirt on his dresser. “Ezra were you hurt in the fight today?”
Ezra leaned resignedly against his dresser anticipating the lecture that was to come. This day just kept getting worse.
****************************************************
“You were hurt!” Charlotte’s rational mind knew that any injuries were only temporary, but the maternal part of her was in a panic at the idea of Ezra in pain.
“I’m fine now,” he insisted. “I was able to get Mr. Larabee to safety and no one was the wiser. I assure you the shirt you’re holding is the only evidence of the bullet wound.”
Charlotte eyed him suspiciously. He was hiding something about his injury but she let it go. Ezra prided himself on his ability to mask what he was feeling from those around him but he’d always had a tough time keeping the truth from her; though sometimes she allowed him to believe he could.
“Ezra, Immortality is not a shiny toy for you to play with as you see fit,” Charlotte chastised him. “You must stop taking these ridiculous chances or you will reveal your secret.” She watched as his shoulders slumped even further under her censure.
She knew that he needed support, but the situation was too dire for coddling. Ezra had to understand exactly what was at stake if he continued to act out of what he thought were good intentions.
“And that puts me and other Immortals at risk,” she continued. The irony of the situation was not lost on Charlotte. She’d spent Ezra’s childhood convincing him that he was a good person and that altruistic behavior was not a weakness, yet here she was telling him that self preservation was the preferred activity in this situation. In her mind’s eye she could almost see Maude laughing with a gleeful ‘I told you so’ on her lips. The idea that she was giving Ezra advice that might have come from Maude made Charlotte wince inside.
Ezra gave a rueful chuckle. He’d recognized the familiarity of the advice as well. “Mother was right after all.”
Charlotte reached for Ezra’s hand. “You are doing good here. I don’t mean for you to stop being a lawmen or to stop helping your friends. You just need to behave more - “
Green eyes finally looked up into blue ones. “Mortal,” he finished as he pulled away from her. His defeated stance was gone and there was a hint of anger in his stride as he paced around his room. “And stand by while one or more of my friends is hurt when I knew that I could save them without any harm to myself?
“This is your influence,” he snapped. “All these altruistic feelings; the desire to help, to be useful! Mother was right, you’ve made me respectable and now I can’t go back.” He threw up his arms in frustration. “I need to go back to who I was,” he finished. He stood gripping the footboard of the bed, his knuckles turning white under the pressure of his grasp.
Charlotte was taken aback by the fury in his tone, yet she understood that for the first time in his life Ezra wanted to do good and it had come back to haunt him. This was a dilemma all Immortals faced: to interfere in the lives of mortals; to share their secret. Charlotte could no more run down the street in her undergarments than she could tell others of her Immortality, it was just not done.
Immortals had learned to hide their true nature. Too often they’d been burned as witches or scorned as freaks - the dangers were to numerous to list. Ezra’s faith in his friends was admirable but when faced with the supernatural would they accept his true nature or run him out of town and her along with him.
She moved next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You can’t go back, darling, and I don’t want you to. I admire the man you’ve become and I think that you do to, or you wouldn’t be so torn by what has happened.”
Ezra snorted. He reached up to pat her hand, taking it in his he turned to face her. “It was so much easier when I didn’t care, when everyone was simply a mark to be used or ignored.”
“But it wasn’t living, Ezra.” She reached up to stroke his cheek. “Immortality is a gift but it is also a curse. I think after today you’re beginning to understand that.”
He nodded. “What happens now? I just stand by and watch them die?”
“Oh, dearest, no; we watch them live and enjoy them while we can.”
It pained Charlotte to see the weight of their reality hit him this way. Immortality is just a word until the idea that everyone you ever loved will whither and die while you go on. In Ezra’s case, it was a violent death that might take his friends away, while he stood by and did nothing. She wasn’t so sure that she could do the same.
“I won’t do it,” Ezra said. “I won’t.” He began moving around the room with a single-mindedness that alarmed Charlotte. He pulled a valise from under his bed. “I’m leaving. At least if I’m not here I won’t feel the guilt of inaction.”
Charlotte moved to place a hand on the top of the case. “You are not ready. Your sword skills are still rusty. You wouldn’t stand a chance against a truly experienced Immortal.”
Ezra gently pushed her hand away as he placed a neatly folded stack of shirts into the bag. “I see no other alternative short of telling them what we are so that I might be free to take what ever risks I deem necessary without their interference.”
“That is not an option.” Charlotte moved to block his way as he attempted to open his wardrobe.
Sighing, he placed hands on his hips. “Cousin, either I leave or I tell the truth.” He stopped to chuckle at that thought. “Tell the truth - who’d have ever thought that would be my first choice?”
Charlotte didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried that Ezra believed in his companions enough to share their secret. She knew the fact he was even considering confiding in them was due to her guidance. Immortality and her influence had changed him more than she could have imagined. He was learning to trust and here she was telling him not to. Life was so unfair sometimes.
“Ezra, please don’t go. Give me some time to figure out another way or to come to terms with your desire to share the truth. It won’t be just your secret you reveal, it’s mine too.”
They stared at each other, before Ezra relented. “All right, I think I can wait a few more days.”
Charlotte smiled. “Thank you.” She pulled him into a fierce hug.
“I suppose I had better unpack,” Ezra said as he pulled away.
“Yes, you should, but first we will go see Chris.”
“We? Is it really necessary for you to come with me?”
Charlotte has to suppress a giggle. He was so much like the small child she remembered being forced to make amends under her watchful eye.
“Actually, yes. I do not trust that you and Vin will deliver the pie I brought for Chris.”
Ezra perked up. “You brought pie? And you let Vin watch over it?”
Charlotte was relieved by the small smile that graced Ezra’s face. She still marveled at her pie’s ability to make hardened gunslingers act like small children at Christmas.
“Don’t worry; I already made sure that Mr. Tanner was well aware of how many body parts he might lose if he even thought about having a sample before I saw Chris.”
Ezra laughed at the image of Charlotte dressing down the scruffy tracker. “Then let us not torture poor Mr. Tanner any further.”
He paused to claim his gunbelt from the dresser and grab his favorite red coat before offering Charlotte his arm.
Smiling, she took his arm, allowing herself to be lead away to the clinic. They hadn’t really solved the dilemma but at least Ezra wasn’t running and that gave her time. Time was something she knew how to use to her favor.
Author: strangevisitor7
Fandom: Magnificent 7 and Highlander
Beta: Much thanks to ithildyn
Prompt: #80 - Island for Crossovers100. My table is here
Rating: PG, Gen
Characters: HL: OFC Charlotte Sparrow (AKA Pearl Black); Mag7: Ezra Standish, Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Nathan Jackson and JD Dunne
Summary: During a gunfight Chris is hurt trying to protect Ezra not realizing that he is Immortal. Ezra is torn between telling the others about his Immortality and leaving town to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
A/N: This is the sequel to Child of My Heart.
A/N: Just a reminder: The Mag7 boys know Ezra's cousin Charlotte by her current alias: Pearl Black
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6
The Truth Is Immortal: Chapter 2
Chris tried to ignore the pain in his leg as Nathan stitched him up. Instead, he focused on the situation with Ezra.
Chris had been pleased with the way the seven of them had come together. Ever since his mother’s visit, it seemed that Ezra had allowed himself to become part of the group. At the same time, Chris had noticed an increase in the gambler’s risky behavior during their gunfights.
Did Ezra think he had to take chances and save everyone just to prove his worth to them? Unfortunately, it was that kind of lopsided thinking he expected from the stubborn southerner.
Nathan poked something that shot pain up his leg. “You almost done there,” he growled.
“Hold still,” the healer commanded, returning his focus to his stitching.
“Hurry up.” Chris looked across the room when he heard Vin chuckling. The tracker was leaning against the wall.
“What’s so funny?”
Vin shook his head. “Not like you gonna be walking out of here for awhile. Can’t be chasing Ez down just yet.”
Chris just glared at his friend. Sometimes it was unnerving they way Vin knew what he was thinking.
“Then go get him!”
“Not if you’re gonna lecture him. That ain’t gonna work.”
He needed to see Ezra and he suspected the man wasn’t about to visit any time soon. It had been weeks since Ezra had called him ‘Mr. Larabee’ and Chris was determined to talk to the gambler before the distance he’d sensed at the jail spiraled out of control. But Vin was right, a lecture would just cause the southern idiot to throw up walls while smiling that annoyingly insincere smile Chris hated.
On the other hand, Chris wasn’t all that comfortable when it came to having those big emotional conversations. That was more Buck’s thing. Or maybe … he smiled as he realized there was really only one person capable of talking sense into Ezra.
“You in the mood for pie, Vin?” he asked.
Vin nodded. “Yep I was thinkin’ pie might be good right now.” The tracker tipped his hat and exited the clinic.
Nathan stopped what he was doing. “What you want pie for? You shouldn’t eat anything that heavy for a while.”
“Pie ain’t for me.” Chris grinned at Nathan’s confusion. The healer shrugged and returned to his work.
**************************************************
Ezra escaped to his room above the saloon. Once inside, he removed his green jacket and examined the hole that Vin had remarked on. He sighed. There was no mistaking the tell tale signs of the rent for anything but a bullet hole. Now Vin was suspicious, which meant that Chris would soon be as well and Ezra had no rationalization that would explain how he had avoided being wounded.
He tossed the coat over the footboard before divesting himself of his guns. Removing his white dress shirt, he found a similar bloodstained hole in the shoulder. Angrily, he balled the garment up and tossed it on his dresser.
He selected a blue pinstriped shirt and red vest, focusing on redressing for an evening of gambling. A game was just the kind of neutral activity he needed right now. Ezra tried not to think of the disastrous events of the day, but his mind would not stop replaying the situation over and over again.
Eventually, he would have to talk to his companions. He didn’t want to face the accusations he was sure he’d see in their eyes that his reckless behavior had gotten their leader injured. He had no defense that wouldn’t confirm Buck’s statement that he had some kind of death wish.
When he’d first used his Immortality to save JD in a gunfight weeks back, he’d been so very proud of his actions. The knowledge that he had something positive to contribute had been a heady feeling. Now, this skill had become a curse. It had never dawned on him that anyone would ever put themselves in harm’s way for him.
As he finished buttoning his vest, he noticed his reflection in the mirror. Two months ago everything had changed, and yet, he looked the same. Inside he was a completely different person and not just because of his ability to heal.
He’d promised Chris he’d never run out again, but leaving seemed like the safest option. Ezra knew he couldn’t risk one of the others being killed because they thought they needed to save him from injury; the irony of the situation would be more than he could bear.
Fumbling with his tie, he finally gave up and flung himself onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling. He didn’t want to leave and that thought also surprised him. He’d found something steady here with friends and family, but like every other dashed dream, it hadn’t lasted.
Charlotte would be worried that he wasn’t ready and insist that he finish his training. But these newfound heroic impulses would not allow him to stand by and let his friends walk into danger when he knew he could do something about it.
It was all Charlotte’s fault! These maddening noble instincts had come from her. He longed to recapture that cold place in his heart that seemed to have receded since that first misguided adventure in the Seminole village and it had disappeared completely after he gained Immortality. He needed to cut himself off from those he cared about so that he could walk away before he got someone killed.
***************************
Ezra woke with a start to the sound of pounding on his door and the presence of another Immortal buzzing in his head. He wouldn’t have believed he could have fallen asleep with all the turmoil coursing through his brain, but even Immortal bodies needed time to recover from serious wounds.
“Ezra, I know you’re in there. Let me in.”
He sat up, rubbing his eyes and dragging a hand through his hair. What in the world was Charlotte doing here? Ezra wondered as he crossed the room. Pausing at the mirror he smoothed down his wrinkled clothing and straightened his wayward tie, before plastering on his most congenial smile as he opened the door.
“Cousin, to what do I owe this unexpected visit? Are the children all right?” Ezra asked, trying to hide the apprehension in his voice.
“The children at the ranch are fine, but it is the child in front of me that I am concerned about.” Charlotte pushed past Ezra and settled onto his bed. Patting the space beside her, she indicated that he should sit next to her.
Ezra shut the door but made no move to join his cousin. “I am no child, Lottie.”
“Then stop behaving like one,” Charlotte admonished. “Vin came to see me. He is worried - all you friends are - that you are taking ridiculous risks.”
“Vin came to see you?” Ezra couldn’t believe that his compatriots had stooped to calling in Charlotte to chastise him like a small child. He’d made a mistake, but he didn’t need his cousin interfering.
“He told me about what happened today.” Charlotte’s voice softened,
“About what you tried to do and how Chris was injured.”
Ezra refused to meet her eyes. “I hadn’t expected Chris to interfere.”
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s you friend!” Charlotte stood and walked toward him. She was about to reach for him when she noticed the bloody shirt on his dresser. “Ezra were you hurt in the fight today?”
Ezra leaned resignedly against his dresser anticipating the lecture that was to come. This day just kept getting worse.
****************************************************
“You were hurt!” Charlotte’s rational mind knew that any injuries were only temporary, but the maternal part of her was in a panic at the idea of Ezra in pain.
“I’m fine now,” he insisted. “I was able to get Mr. Larabee to safety and no one was the wiser. I assure you the shirt you’re holding is the only evidence of the bullet wound.”
Charlotte eyed him suspiciously. He was hiding something about his injury but she let it go. Ezra prided himself on his ability to mask what he was feeling from those around him but he’d always had a tough time keeping the truth from her; though sometimes she allowed him to believe he could.
“Ezra, Immortality is not a shiny toy for you to play with as you see fit,” Charlotte chastised him. “You must stop taking these ridiculous chances or you will reveal your secret.” She watched as his shoulders slumped even further under her censure.
She knew that he needed support, but the situation was too dire for coddling. Ezra had to understand exactly what was at stake if he continued to act out of what he thought were good intentions.
“And that puts me and other Immortals at risk,” she continued. The irony of the situation was not lost on Charlotte. She’d spent Ezra’s childhood convincing him that he was a good person and that altruistic behavior was not a weakness, yet here she was telling him that self preservation was the preferred activity in this situation. In her mind’s eye she could almost see Maude laughing with a gleeful ‘I told you so’ on her lips. The idea that she was giving Ezra advice that might have come from Maude made Charlotte wince inside.
Ezra gave a rueful chuckle. He’d recognized the familiarity of the advice as well. “Mother was right after all.”
Charlotte reached for Ezra’s hand. “You are doing good here. I don’t mean for you to stop being a lawmen or to stop helping your friends. You just need to behave more - “
Green eyes finally looked up into blue ones. “Mortal,” he finished as he pulled away from her. His defeated stance was gone and there was a hint of anger in his stride as he paced around his room. “And stand by while one or more of my friends is hurt when I knew that I could save them without any harm to myself?
“This is your influence,” he snapped. “All these altruistic feelings; the desire to help, to be useful! Mother was right, you’ve made me respectable and now I can’t go back.” He threw up his arms in frustration. “I need to go back to who I was,” he finished. He stood gripping the footboard of the bed, his knuckles turning white under the pressure of his grasp.
Charlotte was taken aback by the fury in his tone, yet she understood that for the first time in his life Ezra wanted to do good and it had come back to haunt him. This was a dilemma all Immortals faced: to interfere in the lives of mortals; to share their secret. Charlotte could no more run down the street in her undergarments than she could tell others of her Immortality, it was just not done.
Immortals had learned to hide their true nature. Too often they’d been burned as witches or scorned as freaks - the dangers were to numerous to list. Ezra’s faith in his friends was admirable but when faced with the supernatural would they accept his true nature or run him out of town and her along with him.
She moved next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You can’t go back, darling, and I don’t want you to. I admire the man you’ve become and I think that you do to, or you wouldn’t be so torn by what has happened.”
Ezra snorted. He reached up to pat her hand, taking it in his he turned to face her. “It was so much easier when I didn’t care, when everyone was simply a mark to be used or ignored.”
“But it wasn’t living, Ezra.” She reached up to stroke his cheek. “Immortality is a gift but it is also a curse. I think after today you’re beginning to understand that.”
He nodded. “What happens now? I just stand by and watch them die?”
“Oh, dearest, no; we watch them live and enjoy them while we can.”
It pained Charlotte to see the weight of their reality hit him this way. Immortality is just a word until the idea that everyone you ever loved will whither and die while you go on. In Ezra’s case, it was a violent death that might take his friends away, while he stood by and did nothing. She wasn’t so sure that she could do the same.
“I won’t do it,” Ezra said. “I won’t.” He began moving around the room with a single-mindedness that alarmed Charlotte. He pulled a valise from under his bed. “I’m leaving. At least if I’m not here I won’t feel the guilt of inaction.”
Charlotte moved to place a hand on the top of the case. “You are not ready. Your sword skills are still rusty. You wouldn’t stand a chance against a truly experienced Immortal.”
Ezra gently pushed her hand away as he placed a neatly folded stack of shirts into the bag. “I see no other alternative short of telling them what we are so that I might be free to take what ever risks I deem necessary without their interference.”
“That is not an option.” Charlotte moved to block his way as he attempted to open his wardrobe.
Sighing, he placed hands on his hips. “Cousin, either I leave or I tell the truth.” He stopped to chuckle at that thought. “Tell the truth - who’d have ever thought that would be my first choice?”
Charlotte didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried that Ezra believed in his companions enough to share their secret. She knew the fact he was even considering confiding in them was due to her guidance. Immortality and her influence had changed him more than she could have imagined. He was learning to trust and here she was telling him not to. Life was so unfair sometimes.
“Ezra, please don’t go. Give me some time to figure out another way or to come to terms with your desire to share the truth. It won’t be just your secret you reveal, it’s mine too.”
They stared at each other, before Ezra relented. “All right, I think I can wait a few more days.”
Charlotte smiled. “Thank you.” She pulled him into a fierce hug.
“I suppose I had better unpack,” Ezra said as he pulled away.
“Yes, you should, but first we will go see Chris.”
“We? Is it really necessary for you to come with me?”
Charlotte has to suppress a giggle. He was so much like the small child she remembered being forced to make amends under her watchful eye.
“Actually, yes. I do not trust that you and Vin will deliver the pie I brought for Chris.”
Ezra perked up. “You brought pie? And you let Vin watch over it?”
Charlotte was relieved by the small smile that graced Ezra’s face. She still marveled at her pie’s ability to make hardened gunslingers act like small children at Christmas.
“Don’t worry; I already made sure that Mr. Tanner was well aware of how many body parts he might lose if he even thought about having a sample before I saw Chris.”
Ezra laughed at the image of Charlotte dressing down the scruffy tracker. “Then let us not torture poor Mr. Tanner any further.”
He paused to claim his gunbelt from the dresser and grab his favorite red coat before offering Charlotte his arm.
Smiling, she took his arm, allowing herself to be lead away to the clinic. They hadn’t really solved the dilemma but at least Ezra wasn’t running and that gave her time. Time was something she knew how to use to her favor.