Out of the corner of his eye, Vin Tanner saw Samantha Crawford making her way from the general store into the Standish hotel. It was just a few seconds, but as he watched her, Vin realized how incredibly aware of her he was. He watched her hair as it cascaded down her back in dark waves. He noticed the way her body curved in all the right places, the places that were making his mouth go dry just thinking about them.
He was also aware of other men noticing these same things. Men he knew personally, men he'd never seen before, any man with nearly good eyesight could see that Samantha Crawford was among the best-looking women in town.
Ezra Standish was one man whom Vin knew saw Sam's beauty. He had to see it-the two were such close friends Ezra would have had to be either stupid or blind not to notice.
Heck, even Chris Larabee noticed. It had taken Vin by surprise the day he'd seen Chris slyly giving Sam the once-over as she'd passed.
Had things always been like this? Vin wondered if all along men had been noticing Sam, and why he himself had never noticed. Why was he suddenly noticing?
"Mr. Tanner," Ezra addressed him. "Would you care to indulge in a game of chance?" With a twinkle in his eye, Ezra pulled an Ace of Spades from what seemed to be thin air.
Knowing it was a bad idea, Vin shrugged. "Why the hell not?"
Sam liked her job as manager of the Standish hotel. She liked the people, liked being busy, and mostly liked feeling grown-up and capable.
As she returned from the general store with more candles for the lobby, an orange cat scurried over her feet.
"Boots," she laughed and continued into the office. As she loaded the candles into the crate the hotel stored emergency supplies in, she looked out the window and saw Nathan Jackson walking down the street into the saloon. He looked serious, which was unusual for a man as good-natured as Nathan.
She hoped nothing was wrong, and went back to arranging the candles.
The burn on her neck suddenly hurt. As soon as it had come, the pain had subsided, leaving Sam only minorly mystified.
"Boys," Nathan Jackson said as he entered the saloon, finding his comrades in a spirited game of poker.
Buck Wilmington laughed heartily, "Have a seat Nathan, I think Im actually going to win this one."
"Eternally optimistic, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra Standish said, knowing exactly what cards Buck had in his hand, and knowing that his own hand could stomp it. Vin Tanner also knew it, but said nothing.
Nathan didn't sit, though. His face was serious, and Chris Larabee picked up on it immediately.
"Nathan?" he asked.
Nathan handed him a piece of paper.
"Walkers been caught," he explained in a serious voice. "They're transporting him here for trial and sentencing."
Buck leapt up out of his chair. "Walker? That bastards going to be in this town? He's dead! I'll kill him."
"Easy Buck," Josiah Sanchez said, resting a hand on Buck's shoulder.
Chris was captivated by something on the flier. "Hes suspected of a number of rapes and murders, but needs to be positively identified before he can be sentenced."
Nathan nodded. "Sam's the only woman who's ever survived him."
Vin looked around. Everyone knew that this was the worst possible news they could deliver to Sam. Having to face him, in person, was surely her nightmare.
"I think Sam should hear this from us before someone else," Josiah suggested, and everyone agreed. A united force, they left the saloon to find Sam.
At that moment, Samantha Crawford was chatting with the McMillan's, a friendly couple from Ireland who were staying at the Standish hotel on their way to San Francisco.
"Hey Sam!" she heard Buck's voice. When she turned around, she got a shock. Coming down the street towards her were Chris, Buck, Vin, Josiah, Nathan, and Ezra. She excused herself from the guests and went to them.
"Gentlemen," she said with her hostess smile still present. "What can I do for you?"
There were nervous glances as they all tried to figure out who should do the horrible task of letting her know the latest news. Sam wasn't stupid, instantly she knew something was right.
Finally, Buck stepped up and turned to her.
"Darlin'," he began. "We got some news, its kinda good and bad news all in one..." He tried to figure out how to say it, but found himself speechless and looked to his comrades. This was a delicate situation.
The Wordsmith of the group, Ezra decided to get it over with. "It seems that the local law in Griffin City has fortunately managed to apprehend Daniel Walker."
Her eyes got wide, but she didn't talk. She just nodded slowly.
Ezra got a nudge from Buck to continue. "And unfortunately, they've decided to transport the bastard here to await sentencing by Judge Travis."
All of them saw her face lose its color. The usually rosy cheeks became pale, and it looked like she was going to either faint or be sick.
"He's gonna be here?" she asked Ezra. He nodded. "Then I hope you all won't mind if I leave town until he's gone, or hopefully dead."
"An understandable notion," Ezra said, subtly trying to ease the hardest part out. "But, you see, in order for Walker to be found guilty, he needs to be positively identified. By one of his victims, ideally. And, it seems that you are the only woman ever to enter his evil grips and escape alive."
Sam shook her head. "I don't want to see him," she stated flatly.
"Sam, honey," Buck tried to say something.
"No," she said, "It's taken almost a year, but I'm to the point now where every time I close my eyes I don't see his face. If you think I'm going to subject myself to that kind of fear ever again you're all out of your minds."
"We'll be guarding him every second," Chris offered. "He won't be able to touch you."
She half-laughed. "He doesn't need to touch me to scare the hell out of me."
Sam walked away. The men stood there, looking at each other. Suddenly, Vin went after Sam, walking quickly until he caught up with her.
"Don't bother," she insisted. "I'd rather die than face him again."
"You don't have to face him alone," Vin promised. "We'll be there, all of us. I'll be there, I ain't gonna let him hurt you, I swear."
There were faint traces of tears in her eyes, Vin hated seeing that. He'd only seen Sam cry one other time, and it was when she'd woken up on the way home after they'd saved her from Walker. Only the idea of Walker could get to her that way.
"None of you understand," she whispered, her voice getting a little ragged as she tried not to cry. "You don't know what I went through. You know what he did to me, but you don't know how it felt. I'm the one who hasn't had a dream that doesn't involve Walker since it happened. I'm the one who has to deal with this every single day, and I've found ways to do it. Pretend it didn't happen, act like everything's fine, focus on running the hotel and forcing myself to smile every moment of every day, despite how I really feel. Seeing him face to face is going to break down the only defenses I have left."
He tried to reach for her, but she pushed him back and spoke coldly. "You all can have your trial and sentencing. I hope someones finger slips and shoots him before it starts."
With that, she marched past Vin and toward the livery. She was going to get on Echo and she was going to get the hell out of that town, if not until Walker was gone then at least for the remainder of the day.
Vin returned to the gathered group. "Dont think there's any changing her mind."
Josiah watched the girl walk away. "Can't say as I blame her."
"That bastard may not live to see his trial," Buck practically growled. He'd been planning his revenge for months, thinking what he would do if he ever came face to face with Walker.
"Easy Buck," Josiah rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "This is going to be hard enough as it is, don't make it worse."
Chris watched Sam as she disappeared into the livery. "Someone better keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't try and sneak away." He looked at Vin, expecting him to jump at the chance.
Vin knew exactly what Chris was trying to do, but he wasn't sure Sam would want him hanging around at that moment. Not that she'd want anyone around her at all.
Buck softened a little. "I will."
Sam ran. She ran from the hotel, past the livery, changing her mind. Saddling Echo would take too much time. She ran as far away from the town as she could run, which was quite far. Only when she was sure no one had followed her did she stop, and slink to the ground, head in her hands.
Walker? In Four Corners? The thought made her stomach turn. Walker? Alive and in her town? It was too horrible to believe. She thought she would throw up, her stomach felt so twisted and knotted.
"Pumpkin?" came a voice, and Sam jumped a foot, but it was only Buck following Chris's advice. He saw his little girl curled up in a ball in the dirt, and dropped down beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. There were no words to say.
The entire town was abuzz with the news that Daniel Walker would be in the prison in their hometown. For the rest of the day, everyone stopped Chris Larabee and co. on the street to ask exactly what they intended to do about his punishment.
Casey Wells was completely in the dark. She had no idea who Daniel Walker was, or why this whole ordeal was such big news.
So she decided to do what any resourceful girl would do....
ask Melanie Hills.
"Mellie!" she cried as she ran to catch up with the bouncing blonde in the red dress. "Wait up!"
Hearing her friends voice, Melanie stopped. "Hi Casey. What's wrong?"
"What's going on with this town?" Casey asked. "Why's everyone all skittery about this Walker fellow, and where's Sam?"
Melanie closed her eyes and sighed, trying to figure out how to explain the past year in any sort of a brief fashion. "No one's told you anything, have they?"
Getting scared, Casey shook her head. Melanie led Casey back to her room at the boarding house, where the two sat on the bed.
"Do you know why JD's back east?" Melanie asked.
Casey nodded. "'cause he and Sam had a fight."
"Good Lord," Melanie said under her breath. As she talked, more and more emotion crept into her voice, until she was sobbing. "No, honey. That is so not true. About a year ago, as she was coming home from the clinic where she'd been helping Nathan, Sam was kidnapped by Daniel Walker. He dragged her out into the plains, and beat her and raped her and almost killed her. The boys went after her, and they found her, but Walker got away. Sam escaped into some woods and they brought her back, she was all bruised and hurt...From that point on, nothing was ever the same...You've heard of the Winston Boys, the bank robbers? They showed up and somehow Sam got tangled up with them, and she got all confused about everything...One of them fell in love with her...she didn't know the truth about anything anymore..JD, Buck, herself, the world...So she went home to Tulsa, and the Winstons were there and once they got a hold of her they didn't let her go. Ezra was the only one who knew about her and the Winstons, and she sent home a letter letting him know she was in trouble, and the boys went after the Winstons and they - as always - won the battle and returned with Sam, but nothing was the same after that..."
There were tears in Casey's eyes. "No one told me she was raped..."
Melanie nodded. "I'm not surprised. It tore this town apart. Everyone fought. Buck and Sam didn't talk for months...no one but Ezra and I talked to her...JD couldn't take it, and moved out to the reservation for a while, then one day we got word that he was gone. Missing him brought Sam and Buck back together. They were all the other had."
"Mary told me an entirely different story," Casey said, stunned. "And Vin didn't give me details, other than to say that bad things had happened to Sam."
"Mary and Sam are still bitter enemies," Melanie explained. "When the entire town turned their backs on Sam, Ezra remained her friend and she moved into the hotel. Mary wrote an article implying that there was more to their relationship than friendliness. There was a huge fight in the street about that...Buck, Sam, Ezra, Chris, Maude...it was pretty ugly. As for Vin, he's become the best friend Sam's ever had. He'd die for her in a heartbeat."
Casey stood up. "Thank you for telling me the truth. There's something I have to do now."
Melanie looked at the girl, whose jaw was set in determination. Casey reminded her of Sam so much at that moment.
Casey left the boarding house and marched across the street to the Clarion newspaper offices. The door was locked, but she knew Mary was inside, so she knocked loudly and kept knocking until Mary came worriedly to the door.
"Casey?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Why'd you tell me all that horrible stuff about Sam if it wasn't true?" Casey demanded. "Why did you lie?"
Josiah Sanchez overheard the conversation from where he was standing in the general store door.
Mary sighed. "Sam made some huge mistakes-"
"You're always preaching about forgive and forget, follow your own advice," Casey cried. "Sam didn't deliberately set out to hurt anyone. She needed friends and you all turned on her. That's whats unforgiveable. And now, she's gonna have to face her nightmares in reality, and you're still spreading lies about her. That's horrible, and I hope you feel righteous about doing it."
"Casey!" Mary interjected.
Casey stepped back. "I have nothing more to say to you." And with that, she walked away.
Mary stood, dumbfounded, in the doorway. She glanced over and saw Josiah watching her, and quickly turned and went back into the office, closing the door behind her.
Virgil saw Sam later that afternoon. She was buying lamp oil, candles, some tea. She was a little rumpled, and her face was pale.
"And how are we today, Samantha?" he asked, attempting a tone of nonchalance.
Grateful for the attempt, Sam half-smiled. "Just getting some essentials."
Nathan and Rain came into the store just then. Nathan nodded at Virgil, and Rain went to Sam's side. It was an odd moment; the two of them hadn't spoken in forever. Rain reached out a hand to Sam, who took it and the two were instantly in a close hug.
"I'm so sorry this has to happen," Rain said, holding Sam as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."
Sam pulled back and looked up at Rain.
"You're here now, that's all that counts."
Buck paced outside the saloon, while Chris sat on the bench and watched him.
"He's gonna be here," Buck muttered. "In my town. Terrorizing my daughter."
"Calm down, Buck."
Shaking his head, Buck paced faster. "No way. The only way I'll be calm is when I shoot that bastard dead and see him put in the ground."
"We gotta follow the law," Chris said. "I want him dead, too. But the Judge wired and told Mary to make sure we follow the letter of the law on this one. Seems he's been getting complaints about some of our methods.." The conversation he'd had with Mary had infuriated him too, initially.
Buck stopped in his tracks. "Well..then Judge Travis best get here as fast as he can to take care of this."
Casey Wells had been looking for Sam for a few hours, and finally stopped by the Standish hotel to ask directly where she was. Ezra pointed Casey toward Sam room, where sure enough Casey found who she was looking for. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, holding a silver locket in her hand, was Sam.
Sam looked up when Casey knocked on the open door, and her face lightened a little.
"Hey.." Sam said. "Come in."
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Casey replied, sitting on the floor as well.
Shrugging, Sam pulled her legs in and brought her knees to her chin. "I've been around."
"I finally learned the truth," Casey blurted. "Melanie told me everything. I had no idea. I've been blaming you for JD's leaving, and it wasn't really your fault after all. What happened to you was horrible, and he should never have left you. I'm sorry."
"If he comes back to Four Corners, and thats a big If mind you, I have no claim to him," Sam said. "But I still care about him so much. I would love nothing more than for you and him to be together. You two are the most wonderful people I've ever known, and you deserve each other."
"Is that from him?" Casey asked, indicating the locket.
Sam nodded. "Seventeenth birthday present. We spent the day at the Grove. It was one of those moments of complete heaven that I can never forget."
Casey nodded. "There was one day. He and I were fishing. I pushed him in the water, he pulled me in after him...I understand."
Both girls looked at each other and a deep understanding passed between them.
"What are you gonna do?" Casey asked. "About Walker.."
"What can I do but wait for him to arrive in town?" Sam asked. "I'm gonna carry my gun every moment of every day, and be terrified the entire time I have to wait and the entire time he's here. Then I have to see him....There's no way to escape that."
Casey nodded. She noticed that her friend's eyes had grown weary. It looked like, physically, Sam was giving up. Nothing had ever scared Casey more. Sam was normally a tough as nails fighter, but something in her demeanor said she coudn't go on fighting anymore.