Long Time Gone

June had finally rolled in to Four Corners, and with it came flowers and blue skies....and heat and bugs. Maude Standish had agreed to relieve Samantha Crawford of her hotel duties for the remainder of the day. After changing quickly, Sam pranced out toward the street of Four Corners. Before she even got off the porch, she found Ezra Standish drinking from his flask and watching something going on down the street.

"Drinkin' already, Ezra? Its early yet...Who're they?" Sam asked, looking to see what was happening. She saw Vin and Buck greeting two women very warmly. One was older, but a tough looking woman. The other was about Sam's age, with auburn hair.

Ezra looked stunned. "Nettie and Casey Wells. Good Heavens, but that was a long time ago. Man was trying to take their land for the railroad, threatening them. They enlisted our help. Then, about six-seven months before you showed up, Nettie decided to go back to Oklahoma to help with her brothers ranch."

"And they're back now," Sam said, shading her eyes to get a better look at the women. "Thats great. It'll be nice to have some new faces around." Especially a girl her own age.

Ezra was trying to figure out how to phrase what he had to tell her. "Sam, darling, there is something else."

She looked at him suspiciously. He sounded nervous to tell her whatever it was, which she knew meant it was something of importance. Ezra never hesitated to tell Sam things.

"Before you arrived, there was a general agreement around all parties involved that the young Miss Wells and our own JD were on the fast track to being married." He watched her face blank at the news. "They seemed made for each other, then she had to leave. It was quite hard for JD, but after a few months he decided it was best to move on."

"He never mentioned her to me," Sam said, looking at the girl in a totally different way. "She's very beautiful." That girl and JD? The thought was insane. Why had JD never mentioned her before?

Across the street, Casey Wells put down her bag and wiped her brow. She was hot, in her layers of dress, and the morning sun was already scorching. June in Four Corners was like that, she knew.

The town looked the same as she remembered it, a few more stores and a few unfamiliar faces, but still the same dusty little town.

Speaking of unfamiliar faces, she saw one that caught her attention and held it fast. On the steps of the hotel, talking and laughing with Ezra Standish as if they were close friends stood a girl, not much older than Casey, with dark hair swept up into a bun. The girl wore a blue dress and was absolutely beautiful.

Vin came up behind Casey and took the bag she'd put down. Casey had always liked Vin, he'd been such a good friend to her Aunt Nettie.

"Reckon you're a might warm," he said. "I'll take your bags up to your room."

She smiled, meaning every thank you in the world. "I appreciate it, thank you. Vin...who's that?"

Vin saw immediately where Casey was pointing, and got his first glimpse of Sam for the day. She brightened his life everytime he saw her, and that day was no exception.

"Thats Sam," he replied. "Samantha Crawford, Buck's daughter."

He wasn't sure how to explain everything Sam was, since the fact that at some point both Casey and Sam had been engaged to JD could have been a touchy subject.

But Casey knew enough already. She'd been getting letters from Mary the whole time she'd been gone. "So thats the famous Samantha?" Casey asked.

Vin smiled. "The one and only."

"She's beautiful," Casey replied, wanting to know what Vin thought of this strange new young woman in her old town.

Vin nodded. "Yep." If only Casey knew.

"What really happened between her and JD? Why's he really gone?" She'd stopped unloading bags and was looking directly at him.

Vin cleared his throat. So she HAD been kept up to speed on the happenings in Four Corners. "I ain't sure this is my place, Casey."

"Well, its gotta be someones, dont it?"

Damn girl always had a rational explanation, Vin thought.

"JD and Sam, " Vin began, unsure how to phrase what he was going to tell her. "They were a real good team, a good couple. But then..Things changed. Lots of things."

"Like what?" Casey asked, dying to know. She'd never stopped loving JD, and was ready to fight to get him back if she needed to.

Vin realized he'd need to tell her the whole story, from Walker to the Winstons and everything in between. But better she hear it from him then from Mary and the others who seemed eager to twist the truth.

"Alright," he said. "Lets get out of the sun, its a long story."

Whistling to himself, Buck Wilmington strolled down the main street of Four Corners, going nowhere in particular. He'd just had lunch with Nettie and Casey Wells, in additon to several of his comrades, and was full of good humor.

"And what's got you so cheery?" Sam asked, joining him as she exited the dress shop.

Buck grinned and threw an arm over her shoulders. "It's a beautiful day, I just stuffed myself silly on meat loaf, and you're speaking to me again. Why shouldn't I be cheery?"

Giggling, Sam nodded. "Makes perfect sense."

"I came by the hotel to see if you wanted to go to lunch," he said. "Maude said she gave you the day off, and didn't know where you were...So I went with Vin and Chris and The Wells'."

Sam smiled. "I went to the canyon," she replied. She'd spent the morning riding Echo and thinking. It was so rare for her to have quiet time anymore, she savored every second. "I really should meet the Wells women sometime."

"Honey," Buck stopped walking. "Do you know about Casey and-?"

"JD?" she jumped in. "Thanks to Ezra I do. Why didn't anyone ever tell me before? Why didn't JD tell me?"

Buck shrugged. "Who knows with that boy? Any word from him?"

Sadly, she shook her head.

"Well," Buck said, "Casey seems excited to meet you. She said Vin told her all about you, and you seemed to be someone she would want to know."

Sam froze. "Vin?" she asked. Good lord, he knew all her secrets. What had he told Casey?

Buck nodded. "She's a good girl, I think you two would be good friends."

Sam started walking away. "I'll talk to you later, Buck, alright?"

"Dinner?" he asked.

"I'll find you," she replied, walking faster in search of the man she needed to talk to.

Vin was in the livery, getting ready to head out for a ride. He got so little time alone these days, he savored it. Although there were new things in his life that he wouldn't have changed for anything in the world.

"Hey," he heard Sam's voice coming toward him. "I've been looking for you."

"I been around," he replied. "Everything alright?"

"Buck said you told Casey about me," she confronted him. She wasn't angry, she was just curious.

Vin nodded. "I figured it was better I tell her, and tell her the truth, rather than have Mary or someone else put their spin on it."

Sam nodded. "So what did you tell her about me?"

"The truth," he confessed.

"Which is? I'm sorry to sound stupid, but the truth has gotten blurred lately."

Vin understood. He continued grooming his horse as he spoke. "I told her you were an amazing woman who loved JD a lot, and some bad things happened that tore you two apart. I told her not to listen to what the rest of the town says about you, especially Mary, cause it ain't true. And I told her that you feel real bad about the way things turned out."

A wave of relif washed over her. What had she been thinking? Vin would never betray her. "Thank you," she blurted. Knowing Vin was there, and had her covered, was such a comfort to her. There was something else she wanted to say, too. "I never got around to thanking you for the poem, either." She blushed a little as she brought it up. "It means so much to me to know I have you as a friend, Vin. And I like knowing that you're keeping an eye on me."

He nodded with a slight smile. "Well, someone has to. Crazy woman like you gets herself into all sorts of things."

Sam approached him, noticing how deep blue his eyes were. These were the strange thoughts that came to her every now and then lately. She quickly brushed the notion aside and nodded.

"That I do," she said. "Where are you headed?"

He tightened the sash of his saddle. "Riding to Bitter Creek. Nathan needs some supplies and Mary wants me to deliver a birthday present to one of her friends. Wanna ride along?"

Sam shook her head. "I'd love to, but I have dinner plans with Buck. Besides, I think I have a new friend to make."

Vin smiled down at her, then quietly reached out a hand and touched her face for a moment. Seeing her smile in return, he pulled back his hand and tipped his hat to her, then hopped on his horse with the grace of someone who'd been doing it his whole life and rode away. Sam watched him go for a moment, then heard a familiar whinny.

Turning around, she saw Echo watching her and waiting for Sam to pay the horse her due attention. Echo was a remarkably spoiled horse, and Sam wouldn't have traded her for anything on earth.

Having settled in to the rooms above the newspaper office, Nettie Wells had decided to take some tea with Mary Travis and Catherine Barnes and then to have a nap. Casey was left alone to re-explore her old hometown. She went to the hotel and saw Ezra for a few moments, stopped to see Chris at the jail, but all the while was watching for someone else.

Finally, she got a clue. Vin was riding away from the livery, smiling over his shoulder at something or someone.

Entering the livery, she found exactly who she was looking for. Casey approached Sam, who was talking softly to her horse in the livery. For a moment, Casey just watched as Sam pressed her forehead to the horse and whispered quiet things while feeding the mare sugarcubes.

"She's lovely," Casey said, stepping forward.

Sam smiled. "She's an angel."

"Whats her name?"

"Echo," Sam replied, then handed Casey some sugarcubes. "Feed her those and she'll be your friend for life. I'm Samantha, by the way. We haven't been formally introduced."

Casey grinned. "I'm Casey. Its nice to meet you." Offering Echo a sugarcube, Casey continued. "I must admit, I don't quite know what to make of you. Half the town tells me these awful stories, but then the people I trust the most - Vin, Buck, Josiah - tell me completely different stories."

"I'm hardly the evil jezebel Mary Travis and the rest of the town would like to paint me as," Sam answered, braiding some of Echo's mane. "I'm just a girl whos made some mistakes on my way to becoming a woman, but I'd like us to be friends if you think it would be possible. I never knew you existed until this morning, I'd hate to think we'd become enemies before we even got to know each other."

Casey nodded. "Friends? I think that would be not only possible, but surprisingly easy."

The young women smiled at each other.

"And when JD comes back?" Casey asked.

Sam smiled. "I have no claim to JD anymore, nor do I think he will have any interest in reviving our relationship. If he wants to be with you, I'd be thrilled."

Casey nodded. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

The sugarcubes were gone. Sam dropped a kiss on Echo's forehead and turned to Casey. "I was just thinking I could use some coffee. Interested? Melanie makes the best coffee in Four Corners."

Looking at this stranger, Casey felt as if they'd known each other for years. "Sounds great."

The two girls emerged from the livery, already deep in conversation about where they were from, people in town, and other things that young women converse about. Watching them, the citizens of Four Corners were relieved to see that Sam and Casey weren't going to be a major dilemma.

Of course, Sam and Casey didn't talk about JD. Both made a point not to. There would be time enough for that later. First, they had to build a friendship. Something they both wanted very much to do. Casey had never had a best girl friend, she'd always hung with the boys. Sam had female friends back in Tulsa, but she too was beginning to see that she didn't have nearly enough women in her life.

Over coffee, served by Melanie Hills in the hotel and consumed on the porch of the Standish hotel, a new friendship was born.

Storybook