Buck's eyes were drawn to the campfire that had grown larger as the day progressed; watching as the red and orange flames flickered as they licked at the kindling. The wood crackled every once in a while, sending sparks dancing into the cold night air. He sighed in repletion and patted his full stomach, dropping his emptied plate to the ground beside him. With a warm smile, Buck held out his tin cup to request more coffee. He breathed deeply, taking in the scents that filled the air around him. The aroma of strong coffee merged with burning wood, roasted rabbit and chicken, and the mildness of the cheroot Chris was smoking.
Vin leaned over and splashed some whiskey into his coffee while treating Buck to a cheeky grin and a sly wink.
It was Vin who had started this Christmas Day exodus from the town, wanting to leave all the festivity well behind him. Buck wondered if he just plum hated this time of year or whether Vin felt that same sense of unbelonging that filled Buck on these holidays. Whatever the cause, Vin had headed out almost at first light and had made it plain that he wouldn't be back until the following morning.
Chris had ridden out a few hours later to join him, though if Buck hadn't stopped him on the way out of town, he would have assumed Chris was riding out to his shack to be alone. He had no idea how Chris had spent the last few Christmases since losing Sarah and Adam but felt that, this year, if it had not been for Gerard Whitman turning up with his daughter then he might have been persuaded to spend the day with Mary Travis and her son, Billy.
Buck shook his head. He had given up on Chris courting the beautiful widow as he quickly recognised that there was no spark between them beyond friendship. Still, it would have pleased him to see his oldest friend regain some of the pleasures of a homely Christmas even if there was no blossoming love between the pair.
Buck grinned as he glanced across to where Chris was savouring his cheroot. It was lucky he had called out to Chris as he rode past else Buck would have been the one on his own this year. His own plans for the day had been scuppered not long after Chris left when Irene declared her intent to spend the whole day with her brother and his family. His fallback plan had fallen through an hour later when JD rode out to Nettie Wells' place having been invited there by Casey.
With the saloon closed for the day that left Buck with only his boarding room and the empty jail. As neither would provide him with company, and Ezra rarely surfaced before late afternoon due to his late night gambling, Buck had decided it would be more fun sharing the day with his oldest friend. He saddled up his grey and rode out to Vin's favourite spot by the creek.
A smaller - though just as warm - fire had already been lit and Buck knew he had made the right decision when he saw the welcoming grins on two faces. Within a few minutes he had seen to his horse and had settled down with his first warming cup of coffee laced liberally with whiskey.
The three of them had thought Nathan was spending a few days with Rain at the Seminole village so it was a surprise when he had ridden into Vin's expanding camp. By then, Vin and Chris had snared a few wild rabbit and were busy skinning them but they welcomed the freshly killed chicken that Nathan had strung over his pommel.
"Pulled a bad tooth. Man was so pleased to get rid of all that pain he gave me this chicken. Figured it was big enough to share."
More wood had gone onto the fire, and a fresh pot of coffee was made as the afternoon drew to a close. The aroma of rabbit and chicken quickly filled the air along with a stew Nathan threw together with the vegetables he'd also brought with him. They were close to eating when the sound of approaching horses drew their attention.
Seeing Ezra was a shock to all of them. It was rare for the man to leave the dubious comfort of the saloon let alone willingly submit himself to a night spent on the cold, hard ground but Ezra had come laden down with his bedroll and a fair number of thick blankets tied to the saddle behind him. As the evening drew on they had all availed themselves of those extra blankets without a murmur of disapproval from Ezra.
Josiah and JD turned up at the same time as Ezra; the three having met each other on the trail. They knew Josiah had made it his self-appointed duty to give two Christmas services at the church he was rebuilding but they had assumed he would take up an offer from one of his few parishioners afterwards. Buck didn't bother to ask if offers had been made and refused even though he knew Mrs. Potter had taken a shine to Josiah this past year.
Buck grinned as he patted his stomach once more. It was fortunate that JD had already eaten more than enough at Nettie's. Also, that Josiah had brought a bag filled with food donated by some of those who had been drawn to the services at the church that day, for there would not have been enough for seven hungry men otherwise.
As the evening drew on, Buck listened and commented on the stories of past Christmases told by the others. Eventually, he felt compelled to tell his own....
For as long as he could recall there had been women prominent in his life. He had been born in a small frontier town not much different from this one - except that it had boasted a decent cathouse. He had, in fact, been born inside that house for his mother had been one of its leading ladies; a soiled dove, fallen woman, working girl, prostitute... whore.
Buck had heard women like his mother described in many terms, depending on whose mouth was working. The local preacher would decry them from his pulpit on Sunday mornings spouting stories of Sodom and Gomorrah. The bank manager's wife would cross the street and shake her head in disgust as she mouthed her own word for the women who lured away her husband every Friday night. Some of the townsfolk viewed them as unfortunate women forced to sell their bodies in order to survive while others could not understand why they did not grab hold of a man - any man - and force him to marry them. Their view being that it wasn't like there was a shortage of single men around those parts.
Truth was, many of those girls were running away from the harsh life of a woman on the frontier. They had been raised on farms and endured hardships and beatings from poor, uneducated fathers who had wanted strapping boys and not feeble girls to help them work the land. They had been seen as unwanted, extra mouths to feed and were often married off to other ignorant ranchers as soon as they entered womanhood - if not before.
Buck recalled hearing their horror stories from his earliest years. He heard how they had endured husbands, who were almost four times their age, raping their still child-like bodies. Some had born more than one child before they had reached their fourteenth birthday.
For many of those women, finding themselves working in a cathouse - like the one in which he was raised - was a blessing rather than a curse for the most part. At least there they had a little more control over their destiny, and none of them ever starved or was beaten.
The owner of The Satin had once been a working girl so she understood far better than most the life they led. She had no concerns over the number of her girls who fell pregnant and she never forced anyone to abandon any of the babies they carried. Surprisingly enough, there were not that many as most of the girls figured out when, in each month, they ought to take a few days rest or offer other ways to satisfy a man's appetite.
Buck's mother had been no more than sixteen when she fell for him. He had no idea who his father was and was certain his mother didn't know either for she had been popular with the men from her very first day. There had been several debates after his birth - and through the following years - as they compared his features with all their clients. Most were convinced he was the son of the town's sheriff, especially as he grew up to be so tall, but he had taken his mother's likeness so comparisons beyond that one attribute were hard to make.
Buck smiled as he recalled his mother's gentle face with bright blue eyes and silken, brown hair. She had the softest skin, and full lips that were beautiful whether she painted them or not. She had possessed the most wonderful, coy smile and she employed it often to lure clients to her bed, but she always saved her best smiles for him; the ones that came from the heart.
Buck closed his eyes and tried to recall the faces of the other ladies. Some came easily but others had slipped away as almost-forgotten, hazy memories. All of them had treated him well and, for Buck, it had been like growing up with a room full of mothers and sisters. He knew from what he saw with the younger babies that everyone helped out, even to nursing one at their breast if the mother was otherwise engaged with a client.
The thought gave him a warm feeling inside, and he chuckled as he pondered on how many of those motherly breasts he had suckled on as a babe.
Buck looked at the six men seated around the campfire who were, until that moment, hanging onto every word as he spoke of his past. Josiah raised his head in supplication, saying 'Amen' but Nathan was shaking his head and sighing in resignation, though his broad grin told Buck he was also enjoying that last image. Chris had snorted in amiable derision before his eyes raised to share his reaction with an equally resigned Vin, while JD just managed to look all embarrassed as usual.
"Any man would have thought bein' surrounded by all those beautiful, warm-hearted and buxom ladies would have made for the best of times but, truth was, I hated most every Christmas." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Even though the preacher made certain we weren't welcome, my ma insisted on dressing me in my Sunday best and dragging us to that damn church every Christmas. No offense, Josiah."
"None taken."
Buck had the decency to look contrite for a moment, but then he ploughed on.
"I'd spend nigh on two hours endurin' the glares and hissed comments aimed at us by those respectable ladies... and the embarrassment of the men who knew my ma more intimate than they knew their own wives."
He snorted and took a sip of the coffee he still held between both of his hands.
"Meantime that preacher would stress them words 'Virgin Mary' at every opportunity and give them meaningful looks in our direction. Weren't no such thing as Christian charity for working girls... not even at Christmas."
Josiah's low rumble and pursed lips showed he understood all too well the holier-than-thou attitude taken by many that had no cause to look down on others less fortunate.
"Folks can be mighty pious at this time of year."
"No different than any other time of year."
Buck winced; hearing the bitter truth in Vin's dryly spoken words as he recalled the way most of the so-called decent folk tended to view the town's seven protectors. Only six months back they had been 'encouraged' to leave after a new law arrived in the form of Marshall Bryce but, within a day, the town had been overrun with looters planning on razing it to the ground. The seven had returned to save the town even though they owed nothing to the people living there.
They had been hailed as heroes for the first few weeks following that incident - but how quickly the townsfolk forgot once their world was set back to rights once more.
"Was that the only reason ya hated it? 'Cos of the church-going?"
Buck could see the genuine interest in Nathan's face and he grinned in pleasure as he noticed all the others waiting for a reply as they sipped at their whiskey-laced coffee.
"Hell, no. Truth is, I always figured Christmas should be one day when family oughta come first, and though most men stayed home there were a few who would slip away from their wives and kids. Most often they'd come lookin' for my ma, lookin' for a little Christmas cheer. We'd be enjoyin' the day together... but she'd send me from her room and I'd end up kickin' stones outside in the street 'til that man was through with her."
"Explains a lot."
Buck glanced up at Chris, more than a little pleased that Chris had noticed that he never went seeking the pleasurable company of a working girl at Christmas. Not even when there were plenty of them around making all kinds of offers.
"Let me get this straight, Mr. Wilmington. Every Christmas you spent as a child was the worst?"
"No. Just saying most were bad times. But there was one in particular that was the worst. That was the year my ma took on this man I'd not seen before. He offered her extra seein' as it was Christmas Day an' all. Heard a lot of strange noises comin' from her room but not much else so no one was too concerned until after the man had walked out, gotten on his horse and ridden off."
Buck licked suddenly dry lips.
"What happened?" JD had edged forward, his young face creased in concern.
"He'd hurt her real bad. Carved up her back. Used a bandanna to muffle her cries. I spent the rest of that Christmas just holdin' her hand and wipin' her tears while they saw to her cuts. I vowed then and there I'd never let any man hurt her or another woman... not while I was around."
They fell silent for a while with just the crackling of the fire and the sounds of the night to fill the air.
"What was yer best time?"
Vin's soft voice carried easily across the fire to where Buck sat.
"Said most of those years were bad, and one was the worst. But there was one other Christmas I ain't mentioned, and that was the best of times."
"No church?"
"There was church." Buck grinned at Josiah.
"No pious townsfolk belittlin' yer ma?"
"Still the same faces." He aimed the grin at Vin.
"No clients for your ma that day?"
"Oh yeah... there were mebbe one or two who snuck out on their wives for a little Christmas cheer." Buck grinned harder when he saw Chris's confusion at the answer given.
"Forgive ma ignorance, Mr. Wilmington, but if events had transpired as usual then why--"
"Why was it so great, Buck?"
JD and Ezra looks just as perplexed as the others.
"Cos that was the year the ladies gave me my first taste of a woman. Ain't sayin' the experience was a good 'un... but after... afterwards, my ma handed me a gun and said 'now ya're a man, Buck.'"
Buck took in every smile from the friends surrounding him and grinned back broadly.
"When I walked into that church and that preacher gave those looks, I looked right back at him. When those pious folk started whisperin' and glarin', I glared right back at them. And when them men came to see my ma for some lovin', I sat right outside the door with my gun an' let 'em know I was watchin' over her."
Buck nodded his head in pride as then grinned at the others.
"The year I became a man, and master of my own destiny... now that was the Best of Times."
THE END