The doors of the saloon swung back with a force that indicated intent; the entrance was meant to be observed. All eyes swiveled to observe the newcomer. All but one. Ben Wade kept his eyes on his hand of cards, still chewing lazily on the cigarillo between his teeth.

"Cold night, out..." he muttered. " I can feel the draft...Close the door on your way out, sir..." he added with a wry grin.

An air of expectant hush hung as heavy as the smell of cheap booze and unwashed bodies. This reckoning had been a long time coming but no one had been in any doubt that eventually it would.

Cort was calling Wade out.

"You still here after all I said?" Cort announced coolly from the door before strolling casually towards the bar. "Whiskey, Horace..."

The nervous bartender filled a glass, balancing the neck of the bottle carefully trying to control the involuntary shaking of his hand. If they drew inside the saloon, who knew what would happen in the crossfire? He nodded at his girl Katie to go out the back away from the chance of any ricochet.

Drinking it down in one, Cort slammed the glass back on the counter top. Wade was still calmly setting down his cards. "Well, it must be me, Cuz, less there's some other handsome devil who looks like the both of us in here tonight...You drinking? Nervous? Trying to steady that hand? Looking for courage in the bottom of a glass...?"

Cort smiled coldly. "You ain't gonna rattle me, Ben. Not in a gunfight. You see, that's my territory. You rob people. Banks, trains, stages...anyone you can sneak up on and take by surprise - then run off and hide. A gunfight's a different thing. It's man to man. There's no fucking place to hide..."

At that Wade looked over, leaning back in his chair, unimpressed. His men fingered their side guns, ready to move if they got the signal. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Sheriff, but did you just mention gunfight? In Redemption? I thought this was a decent little town, nice for families and homesteaders. Isn't that what you said? We don't want trouble here? This is a quiet town? Now you're talking about shooting me down in front of all these people? That don't seem very Christian to me, Christian...Or you forgotten your priestly ways so soon?" His remark seemed to amuse him; he laughed to himself and turned away.

"Don't try and turn this, Wade. I know your tricks and your clever talk too well. You're sitting there with your coyotes ready to back you up. It's goddamn easy to be brave with your men behind you. I'm talking about you proving yourself without your gang. Or you just nothing more than a bully that talks a lot of bull? I dare you, Ben. Go against me. One on one. Winner takes all...I thought you were a gambling man...? Or you got no balls for a real challenge? One that you just might not win?" Cort threw down his gauntlet. The room was as silent as a graveyard. The only sound was a tick tock from an old clock on the wall. Glances were exchanged; some of the girls pulled back. There was so much tension flying about that all it would take was one itchy trigger finger and they could be looking at a bloodbath.

Except for Cort and Wade. Neither of them looked in the least worried. 

Wade stood up and began collecting the money he had won, finished off his drink and brushed down his jacket. "I ain't shooting against you in the street like some two bit gunslinger." He looked about him grinning broadly. "You hear him? Herod's boy, all growed up. Hard to see the difference now, huh? Another sheriff who wants a shoot-off to show everyone who's boss around here? Fuck you, Cort. I ain't getting pulled into that. Me and my boys ain't breaking any laws. We're behaving ourselves and it's a free country.  You want to start something, then maybe we better start looking for a new sheriff. They ain't scared of you now, Cort. Try a show of hands. You might find they've found a better man to keep the law in this town... 'Specially after this little display of temper..." He shook his head and walked over towards the stairs, holding out an arm to one of the girls. "Sorry to disappoint you, Sheriff, but I've got a prior and very pressing engagement. Pearl and I got some business to discuss upstairs seeing as you just stole my girl Mattie Silk. You really are beginning to get on my nerves, Cuz..."

"You walking away from me? Doesn't matter how you cut it, Wade, that's cowardice. You're yellow. You're scared of me. Always were. That's why you treated me so bad when I was a kid. You were smart enough to read it in my eyes. I was the only one who could take you..."

Ben just shrugged and laughed, raising a middle finger in a crude gesture of dismissal. He put his arm around a nervous Pearl, and led her up the first few stairs, already appearing to show her more attention than his cousin behind him. But few were fooled. He was ready. "Shoot me in the back then, Sheriff. Show us all how fast you are...Just remember, my Charlie will gun you down if you shoot me. And if he don't hit you, someone else will. How many bullets it take to bring you down?"

"I said you and me. You can't do it, can you? You always were nothing more than a bully with a gang of boys or a gang of men to make you feel big. They think the sun shines out of your ass. Not for long, Ben Wade. They just saw you turn your back and run, hiding under that girl's skirts...I don't need to shoot you in the back. You just did it for me..." Cort shouted over.

Ben continued walking Pearl up the stairs almost as if he hadn't heard.

"Not gonna work, Cort. I won't play your game. You can't make me. Why should I? I ain't done anything wrong..."

"You better be gone tomorrow. You and all your boys. That's all I've got to say..." Cort warned.

"Can't arrest a man for keeping the law. Just try it..."

Cort watched as Wade made his way towards the upper floor. The air of expectancy in the bar was beginning to give way to one of confusion. Was Cort right? Was Wade too yellow to take the challenge? Somehow he didn't seem so big and tough now after all.

"You know, I've been giving it some thought of late, Ben. About you and me and how's it always been. You don't like me. I just figured out why."

"Oh yeah, and why would that be?" Wade stopped dead on one of the higher treads, pushing the girl away from him almost imperceptibly. For the first time, he appeared to have reacted to the taunts.

"You used to call me a little bastard. What you really meant was the man you wanted to be your daddy loved me more than you. You used to call my mother a whore..." Cort paused for effect; Ben's back noticeably stiffened. "...when everyone knows your Ma worked a cathouse out of Tucson. And she loved you so much, she dumped you at a railway station like a piece of lost baggage...There any man in this state not jumped her...?"

The audience scattered at that blatant insult; it was obvious Wade wouldn't allow this to go unpunished. Wade's men held their ground, ready to take Cort down if they had to. No one ever spoke badly of Ben Wade's mother and lived.

Ben turned slowly, his hands hanging down away from his body, his fingers moving slowly. Cort watched him intently, waiting for that little give every man had when he told you he was going to draw.

"Tomorrow. Dawn. Outside. Say your prayers tonight, Sheriff. 'Cos this gonna be your last night on earth...No one speaks ill of her. No one..."

"Not even if it's true?" Cort mocked, turning in the knife now that he knew he had him.

"...Even bad men love their mommas..." Wade replied softly. "And now, I'll bid you goodnight. Go fuck Mrs. Silk, Cort. Last chance you both got..." Ben added and ran back up the stairs, slipping his arm around Pearl whose pale face matched the translucence of her name. The couple disappeared into one of the rooms above.

Wade threw himself down on the bed in Pearl's room and lay still for a long time, his eyes closed. Pearl sat down on a stool across the room unsure what it was he wanted from her. He almost seemed as if he had gone to sleep.

Then he moved his head, looking over at her abruptly. "You suddenly developed a distaste for men, honey? I thought we had a little session planned here?" he reminded her smoothly.

She hesitated, playing with her curls. "I was scared. I thought he was going to shoot you down there. You sure you want to fight the Sheriff tomorrow? He's real fast. He might be faster than you."

Ben smiled. "He is faster than me. Ain't no might about it, girl. There's no one faster than my cousin Cort Wade. And that's a fact." It almost sounded as if he was proud of his cousin's ability as a shooter.

"Then why did you call him out? He'll kill you!" Pearl exclaimed, aghast at his calm acceptance.

Ben stared up at the ceiling again, letting out a deep breath. "Maybe. Maybe not. No one calls my Mama a whore. No one," he added, his fists clenching and unclenching as he said it.

Pearl scuttled over to the bed, settling in beside him. "You made your point, Ben. We all heard you. You're no coward. Y'got nothing to prove no more.  There's no need to go through with it. Get out tonight! That's what he mostly wants anyway. He wants you and your boys gone. Just ride out and he'll leave it at that. There's no reason to die over this."

Wade looked across at her, reaching his hand out and stroking her pale skin tenderly. "You almost sound like you care, sweetheart."

She pouted prettily. "I do care. I like you. And I didn't like it when you was messing with Mattie Silk. She's no better'n me. She used to work here. She's fucked as many men as me - and then some."

Her sullen little outburst of jealousy amused him. He grinned broadly in response.  "Mattie and I are in the past. She was just someone else who preferred my cousin to me in the end. It's beginning to be something of a habit in my life. Maybe I should take the hint, huh?"

"I like you best. I liked you from the first time I met you! You want me to show you just how much I like you, Ben? Then when you're done, you can go put your pants on and get out. It'd break my heart if you died tomorrow. Truly it would. You don't have to die like a dog out on the street with a bullet in your chest ..."

"...Man's gotta die over something, some place, some time, Pearl. His Mama's as good a reason as any. Better than most."

The girl slipped down beside him, laying her head on his chest. "I don't want to see you die, Ben. Please, ride out tonight! There's always another day to die..."

"...Come with me then. You and me. I've got this little place in Mexico. We could go live there. Start over. I've had enough of this..." Wade murmured almost as if to himself. Pearl laughed in response; she presumed he was teasing her.

"Thought it was little Miss High and Mighty Silk you wanted to play house with. Not me. What use would I be to you be once I was all fucked out?"

Ben sighed. "You'd be as much use as any other good woman, Pearl. It's men who're bad, honey. A woman's just trying to do the best she can."

Pearl didn't answer; she wasn't sure she understood his ramblings. Men were like that. Sometimes they just wanted to talk their nonsense and a girl had to listen.  To distract him, she sat up and began stripping off her clothes. "You want me to ride you? Blow you? Make you feel better? Or you just want to sleep? Dawn's only a few hours away...I'll hold you all night if you want..."

Wade watched her intently as she revealed her skinny nakedness for him. His hands smoothed down the planes of her flesh sensuously; his eyes flared with desire. "...Plenty time for sleeping tomorrow," he observed ominously. "Make me feel alive tonight, huh?"

Pearl nodded and began unbuttoning his jacket to undress him. He laid back and let her, almost like a child would - with his mother. Ben closed his eyes....

The men downstairs poured another round of drinks, discussing where tonight's developments left them. None had any doubts that Cort would take Wade. It seemed like be a good time for them to lit out before they had to make a choice.

Just then a horseman came riding in hard, drawing up to a sudden halt in the street outside. The saloon doors were knocked back for the second time that night.

"Wade around?" It was Campos. He'd been down in Mexico with his girl. 

Charlie glanced up. "Who lit the fire? He's upstairs. Entertaining. I wouldn't try disturbing him just now," he muttered as an afterthought.

"This's important, man. I was in Tombstone. That Pinkerton bounty man's been there. He's looking for Wade."

"What's new? You talking about McElroy? He's been looking for years."

"This time is different. He putting together a real mean posse. Sharpshooters, Indian trackers, all sorts of shit. They was recruiting men. Even asked me to join in...this time they mean business. And they know he's here. They want the Sheriff, too. Seems there's still a price on him in Texas..."

"How far you ahead of them?"

Campos shrugged. "Coupla hours. Maybe less."

Charlie stood up. "Looks like we're riding tonight after all, boys..." He took the stairs two at a time as he charged up, knocking on Pearl's door and opening it just enough to shout through. "Boss, we got trouble...this ya gotta hear...!"

The moon they rode by was an opalescent yellow. In its husky glow, the 12 men picked a steady pace along a flowing creek that would hide their tracks as they rode grimly north from Redemption.

They'd been making steady if slow progress for the last hour. Ben Wade had opted to sacrifice speed in order to confound those who would surely be on their tails by morning - if not sooner. Initially, the gang had made sure the good people of Redemption who were still out carousing had seen them heading off toward the eastern horizon. But after they had rounded a convenient outcropping of the Huachuca Range, they'd circled unseen over their tracks before riding over a waste field of limestone Wade had noticed on one of his many perusals of the land around the town. He always planned for the unexpected, including the need to outrun a talented posse. So he knew that by following the limestone to its northern edges, it was a short trek to the creek they rode. All it had taken then was the light brushing of branches to cover the clear evidence of their route. The ruse would not stand up for long to the combined talents of the trackers the Pinkertons were employing. They would eventually pick up the slight disturbances in the pebbly surfaces. They'd bought time, not eternity.

Into the silence of the trek away from Redemption and the dangerous posse on the gang's trail, a sudden loud curse followed by a heavy splashing was so startling that the entire group reared to a halt.

To Wade's surprise, the cause of the noise was none other than his right-hand man, Charlie Prince, who was struggling to free his left calf from under his horse, which was on its side, legs flailing, in the middle of the creek.

When they'd yanked Charlie to his feet, he hobbled in obvious pain. Wade bent over Charlie's horse, his hand stroking over the big animal's neck as he spoke softly to calm her obvious distress.

"It's snapped, Boss," Trucker said, his fingers searching along the horse's left front ankle. "Musta slipped on one of the bigger rock piles."

"Make it quick. No sense letting her suffer." Wade tussled the horse's mane before rising from his knees. After the gunshot put the horse down, he stood considering the options. "Nothing left but speed. All they'll have to do is follow the buzzards to the carcass. Won't even need to follow our tracks to get here. So, we ride hard and fast. Least we have the night to cross the flats; they'll be doing it in the heat of the day. That'll buy us a bit more time."

"I hate Pinkertons." Charlie spit the words out as if they were encased in venom. "They just cost me a fine horse."

"They'll cost you your life you make another mistake," Wade said softly, lethally.

The men glanced at each other. You didn't make mistakes in this outfit and last long.

"I'll double up with Trucker," Charlie said quickly. "We'll still make Mesa before breakfast."

Wade studied him. "How bad's the leg, Charlie?"

"It's nothing, Boss."

"You can make the hard ride?" Wade approached him. Charlie's eyes dropped. "If it's broken, Charlie, you ain't gonna make it. We'll have to leave you somewhere."

"Boss, they won't even follow us. Not if they can get half the prize easy enough. You know how McElroy is."

"Half the prize?"

Charlie cleared his throat, then winced as he took a step back. "There's a price on your cousin's head still."

Understanding flickered into a cold fury in Ben Wade's green eyes. "They were coming for both of us?"

So many of the men glanced at Campos that Wade turned his full attention on the slight, grizzled man. Campos told him the same information he'd given the others just hours earlier - that the Pinkerton-led posse was descending on Redemption precisely because they'd learned that if they acted immediately they could capture both Wades in one fell swoop.

Wade glared at Charlie. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

"Boss, you ain't saying we owed your cousin something? Seeing he was aiming to cut you down in the morning?"

"A Wade does not run away leaving his kin in a trap like that just to save his own hide. We got no cowards running in our blood."

"Boss ..."

"We're going back."

"But Boss ..."

"I said, we're going back. Anyone got a problem with that?" Wade looked hard from man to man. They moved quickly to re-mount. All except Charlie, who stood on one good foot, his mouth open, trying to find the words that didn't come. As Wade rose into his own saddle, he indicated with one short nod toward Trucker that the two men would be sharing a ride back to Redemption.

The sun that chased the moon away on the leading edge of that morning took its time. A haze hung low and blue-grey; foretelling a gloomy, rainy day was on the horizon.

It wasn't the only thing on the horizon. As Wade's gang raced back into Redemption from the north, he knew McElroy's posse was no doubt waiting somewhere on the southern fringes of the surrounding foothills. The posse would wait until the haze lifted; it's how he'd do it, were he McElroy. They would want to get the lay of the land before making their assault. They thought they were facing not just the Wade gang but they'd anticipate they'd also be facing townsfolk who'd be standing with their sheriff, Cort, in the coming fight.

Ben Wade yanked his horse to head around to the back of the small building that held the Sheriff's office. The lone window along the back wall belonged to Cort's rooms in the rear of the office itself.

"Rise and shine, Sheriff. We got company coming," he called out.

By the time the tell-tale dust cloud of the posse's movement began kicking up from the desert floor to the south of Redemption, there had been scant time to fully prepare for the coming assault.

"Must be nearly thirty of 'em," Cort said, his eyes squinting through a telescope.

"Odds aren't too bad then," Wade said. He smirked when Cort turned to look at him, his lips pursed. "Surely you've faced longer odds, Cuz."

"It's a wonder you lasted this long, way you act like you're impervious to bullets."

"Impervious? Why, Cuz, where'd you buy that fancy word?"

"Wade, I need to go recruit more guns. Do me a favor while I'm gone?"

"Whatever you want, Cuz. You know me - always aiming to please ya."

"Just start thinking how to set the men up to protect our flanks."

As he raced back down the main boardwalk of Redemption, Cort found the bustling town had suddenly become a barren ghost town. Every shop was shuttered. Doors and windows of each neat home were closed. Even the saloon was empty save Horace, nervously shining whisky glasses behind his tall bar.

"Where are they?" He watched as Horace squirmed before answering.

"The church." Before Cort could leave through the saloon's broad swinging doors, Horace called out to his back, "They're scared, Sheriff. Not every man's made to deal with such matters."

Cort glared into the gathering sunlight. His voice was gritty. "Everyone's scared. Difference is some of us don't have to rely on others to save our sorry hides."

Even before he headed for the church, Cort already had known his mission there was doomed. But he did it anyway. 

Not a voice was to be heard greeting him as he entered the cool, dim interior. No man met his eyes as he strode slowly up the center aisle to approach the dais. He stood on the bottom step and gazed slowly over the people who knelt in the pews before him, their heads bowed. Were they praying or just hoping God's messenger wouldn't tap their conscience? Even cowards seek out the Lord's presence when they're trying to rationalize their moral failings.

"Not a day's gone by since I became your Sheriff when I haven't stood between you and evil to the best of my ability. Now, I know you already know this, but you need to hear it from me. I need your help today. Together, we can stand and drive back the evil that even now is heading our way."

From one of the rear views, a man called out in response. "You showed us not so many days ago just how committed you are to protecting us, Cort. You expect us to believe you'll not run again this time?"

Cort's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. He kept his voice soft. "You all know me. I shouldn't have to stand here, asking for your help. This is your town. We built it back together. If we don't help each other today, you will never see it rise again to be the place you have set your hearts on it being: the place your children will call home."

Another voice from the congregation said, "It's not us they're coming for. It's you Wade boys and that gang. It's justice coming - not evil."

His eyes circled the room again. Cort felt again the particular void, the despair caused inside his soul when these sheep had been so quick to abandon his side when his cousin came thrusting his muscle around, making them all fear they'd picked the wrong savior.

They were not going to stand with him now. Even after all he'd sacrificed for them. All the times he'd put his life on the line. All the times it had been only his sheer will that had meant this town's survival and resurrection.

And now that his need was greatest, there wasn't a single man willing to stand by his side. There was no gratitude for heroes in this town; the hand of friendship was only extended when it benefited them, not when it really counted, like now. The disappointment of this reality nearly made Cort lose his faith in people. On the other hand, the one person he'd had least faith in, his cousin, had been the one to stand beside him with no hesitation.

"At special moments in your life, you get the chance to make a choice about the person you will be. I have made many bad choices in my past and I am poorer as a man for it. But I have found forgiveness from my Lord for those choices." Cort's voice was raw, scratching out from his very soul. Eyes in the congregation rose to stare at him but still they could not meet his gaze directly. He shook his head in sorrow. "Some day, the Lord will call each of you to account. What will you say when he asks about the choice you are making today?"

The people glanced at each other. But not a voice answered. And no one rose to offer his gun to help Cort meet this challenge. His disgust was complete. He would waste no more time with these sheep.

He strode down the aisle just as Mattie Silk rushed in, a shotgun clutched in her tiny hands. His heart lurched at the concern and determination on her face, mixed with fear that shone in her eyes. Why did he also feel such pride to see his woman here, to know she would stand with him at this time in such a public demonstration of loyalty?

"What are you doing here, sweetheart? I told you to stay inside and wait for ..."

"I can handle this gun, Cort. I'm not afraid of anything but losing you without fighting to save your life!"

"Oh, Mattie." He gathered her in to him and hugged her tightly. Finally, he released her, tilting her chin up so she'd look in his eyes as he spoke to her. "I can't do this unless I know you're safe. Go back to your rooms and stay there until it's over? I'll come for you - I promise."

It wouldn't be long, Ben Wade observed as they watched McElroy deploy his forces. Wade rolled onto his back and examined the positions of each of his men who hid on the nearby roofs and upper windows of the town's buildings that ringed around what would be the main field of battle today. Satisfied, he rolled back until he could once again gaze around the rounded side of the barrel he hid behind.

The barrel several paces away likewise shielded his cousin Cort from the posse's view as they proceeded carefully toward the deathly quiet town.

"So, your flock of sheep decided not to follow their Good Shepherd today, did they, Cuz?"

Cort's handsome face creased with a deep frown. He said nothing.

"Of course, you never expected them to help, did you?"

Again, Cort did not respond.

"You have to know how to read people, Cort, if you ever hope to get anywhere in this life."

Cort turned to consider his cousin. Their eyes met. Wade grinned at him. Cort shook his head. "I have learned that if you expect people to rise to their best, they will often surprise you by how well they come through in trying circumstances."

Wade snorted. "Is that right, Cuz?"

"Yes. It is. Look at you, Ben."

"So you're holding out some kinda hope these sheep are gonna discover they got some unexplored vein of courage or loyalty in their veins?"

"A man without faith and hope will lead a bitter, friendless life."

"Yeah. Right. Or maybe a man learns the real lessons of this life. People do not do good deeds unless there's something in it for them. Not out here, Cort. Maybe back East, where life is easy and civilized. Here, they only help you if they know doing that will give them what they want most in life - money, fame, women, power."

"And what was in it for you to come back here and save my life, Ben?" Cort's question was delivered softly, and so low that no one but his cousin could have heard it.

Their eyes were locked on each other.

"I got no other kin left. If I hadn't come back for you, there'd have been no chance the Wade name would survive us."

Cort smiled sadly. "Oh, I imagine you could take care of that yourself, Wade. Surely there're a string of ladies willing to bear your child ..."

"Not my bastard. I'm talking about a son who'll legitimately bear the Wade name into future generations."

"What makes you think ...?"

"You don't marry her, I'll come back and kick your ass, Cort. Fill her with babies - if you're now man enough. Imagine that?  The Wade name going on only because of you, the runt of the litter? You gotta admit, sometimes God's got a real sense of the absurd."

"You better stop talking so sweet to me, Cuz, or someone's gonna think you've become a good man."

"No one's ever going to confuse me with a good man."

"I sure the hell never did." Cort smirked as he said it, turning then to study the approaching men on horses.

The posse's members were now committed to the attack on Redemption and some pre-arranged signal made them all suddenly spur their horses into pell-mell gallops. As they raced toward the town, they began firing.

From their positions, Cort and Ben used their considerable skills with their guns to pick off several of the riders. The hidden snipers above picked off more, reducing the opposing forces to more manageable but still fearsome odds, considering their superior firepower.

From her rooms above her shop, Mattie could hear the shattering sounds of the intense gun battle being waged around the buildings at the south end of town. She could picture the open spaces between the surrounding hills and the low rise of land that led toward the main street of the town. She hoped the Wades would cut the approaching forces down as the posse raced across that open space but she never kidded herself that the odds favored those of the superior force.

She closed her eyes and tried to visualize Cort's face. How could they be so close to a future she wanted with all her heart only to have his life in such danger? And not one of the bastards in this hell of a town had been willing to come forward to help.

Mattie's heart seized with anger. How could they desert Cort this way? After all he'd done for them? After he'd freed them from Herod? After all the bad men he'd chased away from Redemption?

They didn't deserve him.

She would never forgive them for this.

"If we make it through this, we are getting out of here," she said aloud as the battle raged on in the near distance. "This is no place for good people. It's no place for us."

Of all the people she might have thought would help Cort, the last person would have been Ben Wade. Imagine him coming back? Why had he done that when he'd gotten away clean? Was it possible he had a heart? Unbidden, a memory of his face in easy repose, in her bed, came to Mattie. Wade was not the total evil he wished others to think he was; not the complete bad man he labeled himself in his own eyes. He could not be that and have treated her in their private moments with such tenderness. And it was that tenderness that brought her time and again over those weeks into his arms to share passion and, dare she believe it, love.

Shaking the memory of Wade's lovemaking away, she paced in her room and tried not to look out her window but it was no use. She peered into the distance, frustrated that her view could not see around the far building. Suddenly, a rider burst into the main street. She could barely see him as he streaked forward. It seemed less than a second later, she watched as a bullet slammed him off his saddle, to be dragged along the dusty road by his fleeing horse.

The room began to spin. She clutched at her stomach to keep from retching. Darkness stabbed at the edges her eyesight; she reached for her bed. As she lost awareness, she fell across her mattress into oblivion.

When her eyes blinked open again, she noticed nothing but the roiling in the pit of her gut. Groaning, she stumbled to the bucket behind her screen. After, she ran a shaking hand across her lips before reaching for a cup of cool water on her nightstand.

Only as she felt the water slide down her throat did she realize there was something significant going on outside.

Her eyes snapped toward the window.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Was it over?

Yes, it had to be. There were no more guns being fired.

Cort! Was he okay? He had to be!

She rinsed her mouth again, spitting roughly into the bucket before wiping her mouth and hands with a towel. She patted her hands over her hair as she swayed in the center of the room, still woozy and suddenly undecided on what she should do now.

She had to go find out if Cort had survived.

But she couldn't make her feet move at first.

Not until she saw the heavy shadow of a buzzard as it flew lazily past her window. Then she was racing down her stairs, through her little shop. At the front door, shaking hands undid the latch to let her out. Then she was running, her hands clutching the bottom of her dress up well past her ankles so she could run as fast as she could without the skirts impeding her.

Before she got far down the road, a familiar figure loped swiftly around the edge of the last building. The figure stopped as he saw her running toward him, her golden red curls bouncing in sunlight that now felt glorious to him. She was calling his name, one hand reaching toward him as she neared.

Cort moved again then, going swiftly but picking up his pace as he saw the details of her face. And he made it just in time to catch Mattie just as she fell to her knees as the reality hit her that she was really seeing her lover, alive, a survivor again.

"You lovebirds quite finished?" Ben Wade leaned in the door, tipping his hat at Mattie, his manner somewhere between respect and mockery. Cort pulled away, letting Mattie slip from his arms. "McElroy's made a run for but he won't leave it at that. My humble suggestion would be to get the fuck out of the state. I'm heading for New Mexico, lie low for a while. You're welcome to ride with us a ways. You hang around Redemption much longer, one of the good citizens will take it into his head to wait until your goddamn back's turned - the price is the same dead as alive, Cuz..."

Cort grimaced at Wade's words. He knew he was right. He owed this town nothing any more nor could he trust to their good will. The past day had proved there was little honor when it came down to it.

He nodded. "Give us some time..."

"Quarter hour. No more. Or we'll be gone..." Wade warned them both before stepping outside leaving the couple alone.

"You gonna leave me?" Mattie asked Cort hesitantly. She knew the story. He would tell her he'd be back one day when it was safe. And she'd never see him again.

Cort smiled. "Only if you don't want to come. I can't promise you anything, Mattie. I've no money, no home, nothing but my hands and my heart. It's gonna be hard. Real hard. But I swear I'll work at anything, go anywhere, do anything to build us a life. You want to take a chance on me?"

Mattie didn't give him any other answer than to throw her arms around his neck. "You try and keep me away...! I'll just need five minutes to gather a few clothes....!" She drew away and was already making for the door. Cort grabbed her hand and swung her back.

"Not too much..." he warned, suddenly envisaging her dragging out a carpet bag loaded with gowns. "We'll be riding the trail...Mattie, it's not a place for silk and lace..."

She tutted back at him, her hands on her hips. "You think I need telling? I'm gonna change into a pair of breeches and tie up my hair.  Pack a few things: one dress and a change of bloomers, my brush, a bar of soap and a towel. You go get some water and biscuits, clean shirt and a change of underpants...no law says we can't try and stay clean on the trail..."

"But, Mattie..."

"Go! Get...you heard the man. You want them to ride without us...?" Cort shrugged. There was no arguing with a woman. Clean drawers it would be, if she insisted.

The endless trail stretched ahead of them, mile after hard dusty mile, heat burning down, sweat stinging eyes that were smarting from the brilliant glare of the sun. it was a welcome relief when they began to climb to higher ground, even if it slowed them down and the riding was even tougher on their bodies. At least the relentless temperature eased off and the scene was less monotonous. But it was still a desert, even if a rocky one.

The height afforded the riders a sweeping view of the plains beneath; it seemed impossible to imagine there could be anyone in the world but them. It was a desolate wilderness, a landscape carved out of the bedrock of the earth itself. Civilization was sloughed away the further one rode. A different law applied out there.

There was little conversation, each man deep inside his own head for much of the hours of forward movement, always pressing on ahead. Their mouths and hair were caked in dust, the arid dryness never completely slaked even by regular water breaks. Bones ached, bodies grew stiff - and still Wade kept them moving, constantly forging forward and then riding back, scanning the horizon and keeping up the fast pace. Light was already fading before he showed signs of stopping. Some had wondered whether he was planning simply to ride all night.

The vast sky was darkening in a kaleidoscope of bronzed-burnished pinks and indigos when he led them down through a narrow canyon that opened out into a hidden valley, supplied with water from a fast flowing mountain stream. Wade had known about this retreat. They should have trusted that he would have a plan. This had been no desperate flight.

Cort dismounted and straightened out his stiff back, wiping a grimy glove over his dust streaked face and back through his hair, stiff with sand and grit. He raised his arms up to help down Mattie; she looked pale and still but she was still awake. It was amazing that she had held her own throughout the day.

If he had been concerned about Mattie riding hard, Cort needn't have been. She had a decent seat on a horse but more than that, she had been determined not to slow the men down. They had heard no complaints from her even though they all knew she had to be suffering from the miles they covered that first day, particularly after the previous night without sleep.

They stood together looking out across the evening landscape.  It was unlikely anyone was on their trail yet. High up in the mountains they could feel safe for the time being. Around them the other men set to work, watering and feeding the horses, lighting fires and preparing a rough meal.

Cort hauled their blankets from their horses, saw to their needs and then set up a little camp for the two of them at a distance from the others, lighting a small fire of their own, trying to find some privacy for Mattie away from the prying eyes of the men. He took her further down the small creek to wash, sitting with his back to her while she busied herself, his gun cocked watching. He didn't trust Wade, let alone any of the dogs with him. Before they had had no choice but to trust each other - there had been common cause; now there was nothing to bind them. Mattie was a woman. These animals would think nothing of removing him to get at her. Cort was unsure if Wade would care enough to stop them. He had to be smarting at losing out to his cousin where she was concerned anyway.

Mattie's arms around his neck advertised that she was finished; he thought she was being amorous. "Not here..." he hissed. But her body falling against his back as a dead weight alerted him that something was wrong. Cort caught her and eased her round into his arms; Mattie had fainted dead away.

Lying her tenderly down on the hard earth, he stroked her face; she was paler than ever and very cold. The heat of the day had quickly vanished; the cool water had brought its chill. Cort rubbed warmth back into her thin bones with his large rough hands, checking for signs of injury. What had happened to her? For an instant he wondered if she'd come across a rattler in the rocks but her soft moans as she came to showed him she wasn't hurt. She had fainted. The day had been rough on a delicate woman. Mattie had to be exhausted. He should have guessed "You okay, sweetheart...?"

Mattie nodded, her lips drawn tight and a tear trickling down her cheek. Cort smiled and wiped it away. "Hey, no crying! You done good today, Mattie. Lot of men would have cried off and you kept going. No complaining. I'm proud of you. Let me carry you back and warm you up in the blankets. I'll get you some food and hot coffee, then you can have a good sleep. You'll be fine in the morning..."

She let him pick her up, slipping her arms around his neck, and resting her head against the warm strength of his shoulders. His thick hair brushed her face. She took comfort in the feel and smell of him even as her heart ached at the irony of her situation. She wasn't crying because of exhaustion or anything the day had taken out of her. To be at his side more than compensated for the hardship. But what was breaking her heart now was the irony of her situation.

At last she had what she desired, the one man she needed in life - only to find out that she was carrying another man's child. The truth had dawned on her during the long ride. The sickliness, the fainting, the other signs. She'd heard tell of them often enough. Her symptoms were those of a woman with child. She'd been sleeping with two men regularly, one for weeks past. There had been a lot of fucking. She'd never even tried to protect herself. Stood to reason that this would be the outcome

Worse still was the knowledge that it couldn't be Cort's. It was too soon. They had only done it two times yesterday. Not long enough for these signs to show. The child must have been fathered by Ben Wade. He'd left her his parting gift in no uncertain terms - and most likely ruined her life into the bargain. It seemed a familiar pattern. Mattie Silk got to taste happiness and then it was pulled away from her, the cruelest of taunts.

How would Cort deal with that knowledge? He hated Wade. Imagine what this would do to him?  Mattie had no idea how she would tell him this news. But for tonight she decided to set it aside and let his strong arms surround her. There would be time enough in the future for confessions. She would face what she had to then. No doubt when they reached a decent town, she'd sit him down and own up - then he would leave her there, somewhere she could make a living the usual way. Cort was a good man. He would make sure she wasn't stranded. But she couldn't see him or any man taking on another man's bastard. Particularly when the man was your mortal enemy.

Maybe she ought to tell Wade? Maybe he might help her if he knew? It was unlikely, but you never knew. She reckoned he had probably fathered dozens of brats and didn't give a damn either way. He was a man. He didn't have to. But he was also not quite the same as other men. If there was one thing she had learned about Ben Wade so far, it was you never could tell what he would do next. In all fairness he had a right to know - and a chance to prove that he could do something honorable. Whatever that might be in his book.

While she was thinking on her dilemma, Cort arranged the blankets around Mattie until it was as comfortable a bed as possible on that hard ground beneath the stars. He coaxed her into taking a few spoonfuls from a plate of beans, and a few sips of hot coffee. Her stomach heaved but she needed to eat to conserve her strength and nourish her baby so she meekly took the food from his spoon. This little mite was important to her, whoever had fathered it. It was probably all she would ever have now of either man

There was nothing else to be done once they had eaten, so Cort helped her lie down, wrapped in blankets, telling her to sleep. Tomorrow would be a rest day. They planned on holing up here until the trail went cold.

It seemed to Mattie that she would not sleep in that hostile and unfamiliar landscape, with so many worries on her mind - but exhaustion proved her wrong. Her body spoke for her. She might have been scared of wolves and snakes but when the light of day woke her up, she realized with surprise that she had slept from almost the moment her head had touched the ground. Cort had held her all night, keeping her warm- but he was gone when she woke.

Sitting up, Mattie brushed hair from her face and yawned sleepily. It was still early; men were wandering around beginning the day. The sun was not yet warm; she shivered, pulling the blanket round her shoulders "Coffee?"

Ben Wade was holding out a tin cup steaming with a hot brew. He was smiling down at her with that oddly sweet smile of his, his face unshaven but his hair already brushed back. He had washed. Ben had his own standards, even living rough up in the hills.

The thought of bitter coffee made her feel nauseous but she craved the warmth of the cup in her hands. She nodded and accepted it, cradling it gratefully.  

He helped her stand. They strolled over to a nearby log stump. All along Wade watched her impassively; she knew he was thinking. Not much escaped the keen eyes and sharp brain of this wily man. "You look mighty fetching in those britches, Mattie. Nothing raises a man's temperature quite as much as a lady in man's clothing. Where you get them from? They look too small even for my cousin's snake hips..." Wade added grinning.

Mattie sipped at the hot drink, staring ahead of her. "They belonged to my husband. The Kid. He was just a skinny drink of water..."

Ben squatted down by her, scrutinizing her face as she tried to look away, his finger tilting up her chin. He was reading something that she was hiding from him.  It was hard to hide anything from Ben Wade. He always worked it out, especially the things you didn't want him to know. "You look pale, Mattie. You sickening for something? Or is it something else? A woman's ailment?" he added obliquely. A lucky guess or was he closing in?

Mattie shook her head, guilt stealing her tongue. It was wrong for a man to be ignorant of where his seed was growing. He had the right to know. But if she told him, then Cort would find out - the wrong way. She couldn't let that happen.

"I'm fine, Ben. Just tired. Thanks for your concern," she replied hoping he would accept her answer. 

To her relief, Wade seemed satisfied. His next comment took her by surprise. Maybe he was looking the wrong way after all.  "I thought we had something back there, girl..." he observed, his mind clearly drifting away onto what was really on his mind

"We did." Mattie answered honestly. "Back there. For a while..."

"...but not enough, huh?" Wade replied with the glimmer of a rueful smile. It even sounded genuine. "Don't worry. I've no plans staking my claim. You want my cousin, you go with him. I ain't interested in settling down anyways...A man like me?"  He laughed brightly, shaking his head at the very absurdity of the idea.

She looked directly at him as he stared back; it almost seemed like he wished to say more, but had thought better of it. That surprised Mattie. Ben Wade wasn't the sort of man to hold his tongue for anyone. Maybe he was going to lace his apparent generosity with one of his characteristic lightening strikes.  She held herself together, expecting some cruel and hurtful insult, the typical response of a man to a woman who has spurned him, guaranteed to attack her reputation.

But Ben Wade did not take that easy shot. He simply smiled sadly and touched her face gently. He wasn't going to punish her. He had accepted his defeat graciously. It forced the words from her almost unaided.

"Not enough? You're wrong, Ben...plenty enough. Enough to carry your baby in my belly..." she muttered. 

Ben stopped in his tracks, his brows knitting as he gave some thought to what she had said. It was obvious this turn around had never once occurred to him. How come smart men were so stupid when it came to such matters?  They never seemed to see it coming.

Dropping down again to his knees, he said nothing for a while, his face giving little away. Then:

"You sure? I'm not the only man been up there..." he rasped gruffly, looking for a way out or just giving himself some thinking time.

"Too soon to be Cort's. And you know damn well you were the only one before him..."

He dropped his head; he did not gainsay her. Wade wasn't the sort of man to deny his own part in it. Maybe it even gave him a sense of pride. Mattie was surprised at that notion. Was this the first time he had been told he was going to be a father? Or was it more that inside this fearsome man was a more emotional heart than she had realized? Reaching out, Ben stroked his rough fingers gently down her face. "He know? You told my cousin yet?"

Mattie shook her head.

"Why did you tell me then?  It would be easy to pass it off as Cort's a few weeks down the line. Wouldn't be the first child come early...he'd never work it out...Not if you told him otherwise...nor would I..."

"You going to tell him?" Mattie asked bluntly, ignoring his suggestion that she should conceal the truth.

He smiled at that. It seemed to please him that she had been honest. "Are you?" he retorted, his old wit biting back, his eyes glittering. 

Mattie shrugged. It didn't much matter any more. Wade would take great pleasure in making Cort squirm over this one. Maybe she should get it over with first to spare him finding out from Wade with the inevitable taunts that would go with it.

"Why did you tell me? I wouldn't have known." Wade asked her again directly. Mattie had the sudden impression her answer was very crucial to him. He required the truth and would not settle for anything less. If she lied he would see right through her.

"You have a right to know. It's your child too. A man should know when he's going to be a father. It's up to him what he does about it." There wasn't much else she could say.

His reaction surprised her again. Ben sighed, rolling a stray curl of her hair between his fingers. "He'd make a better father. You know that, don't you?"

"But he's not the father," Mattie insisted softly. "You are."

"It don't matter who sowed the seed, honey. He'd still make a better father than me. Don't tell him. Wait a couple of weeks, then say it's his... He'll never know..."

"That's a lie." Mattie faced him up, even though they both knew she had to have considered this course of action. It's a wise man who knows his own father.

"Little white lie never hurt anyone, sweetheart." Ben smiled. "Let me tell you something, Mattie Silk. I ain't the marrying kind. Even if I were, it ain't likely I'd hang around long. Then what would that leave you? A hungry mouth hanging round your skirts? Another heap of trouble growing meaner everyday just like his old Pa?  Pretty woman like you only got one option if she's no man to take care of her. And it ain't like you don't know your way round a cathouse, is it now, girl? But they don't want to know you in a decent whorehouse. Not with a little 'un making your tits sag.... That the way it goes?"

Mattie didn't answer him. She didn't have to. Her eyes had already filled with tears. Wade was right. The future was looking bleaker by the minute. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to see this through when it came down to it.

Ben took her hands and lowered his voice in that deep honey tone of his that was so hard to resist. "This is what we're gonna do, Mattie. You listen carefully and you do exactly what I say. I'm gonna tell Cort we need to go separate ways. Then you and him get the hell away from us. Who gives a damn which of us fathered it? It's a bastard anyways. And it's gonna look like Cort either way..."

When Mattie spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. "Why would you do this for us?"

"I'm not doing it for you. Or him. I'm doing it for my son. Or maybe even my little girl. Wouldn't that be something - Ben Wade has a little daughter? And I sure don't want no daughter of mine ending up as a whore. You got that?  Mattie, I'd be a no-good father, coming from a long line of no-good fathers before me. It's better this way. My kid gets a decent life and I don't have to give a damn...." He grinned, a far away look in his eyes. "...And another little boy won't have to sit all alone in a railway station some day clutching a Bible..." She had no idea what he meant. He had no intention of clarifying his meaning.

"I don't want to live a lie, Ben. Cort's a good man. I can't lie to him...That would be wrong..."

Ben shrugged. "He's a good man. He'll raise the kid good. Then he'll raise you a whole mess of other kids of his own. A family. Mattie, it's what you both need. It's what you both deserve. But it's up to you. He loves you. You love him. Who the fuck cares about anything else? Think good and hard, Mattie, before you decide to come all honest for once in your life. Honesty is vastly overrated. What he doesn't know won't hurt as much as what he does. And one more thing - it ain't easy in this life to find a good man - but it's goddamn easy to lose one..." He nodded wisely at her, chucking her chin as if she was the child in an oddly paternalistic gesture.

Ben turned as if to walk away and then suddenly spun round again. "It's more than that. There's no other man I'd trust my child to than him. And there's no other woman fit to bear it either... I just thought you ought to know that, Mattie Silk..."

Mattie watched Wade walk away from her, straight backed and with his usual aggressive swagger. Wiping the tears away, she flung the dregs of the coffee away onto the hard ground. Cort came over, frowning at the disappearing back of his cousin, observing her distress. "What did he want?" he asked suspiciously.

"Brought me a coffee. He meant no harm." Mattie answered meekly. 

This would be the time to tell him if she was going to do so. She looked across at Wade who was now helping himself to another cup of coffee, sharing a joke with one of his men. Yet he hadn't missed the arrival of Cort. His eyes met Mattie's and his finger went to his lips. She owed it to Wade to keep his child safe. She owed it to Cort to be honest. It was quite a dilemma.

"Cort...?"

"Yeah?"

Mattie paused. "What we gonna do now?"

"We're not staying with this outfit, that's for sure. They gonna lie low here for a few weeks. I want to get out now. You think you can manage another ride today? I'll take it slower but if we get across this range, we're in another state.  I'm gonna talk to Wade. We need to say our farewells. You go get your things together. When you're ready..." Cort said. Mattie stood up, swaying slightly at the sudden movement, willing herself not to faint. Cort steadied her, his demeanor showing his anxiety. He knew something was wrong. "You okay?"

Mattie looked up at him. Their eyes met. He smiled. She returned his smile. "I'm gonna be just fine, darlin'...just fine..."

Later, after he had saddled up both their horses and helped himself to their share of the supplies, Cort strolled over to where his cousin was chatting to some of his men. They had all been watching his preparations wordlessly. As he approached, the others backed away at a discreet sign from their boss. "This is as far as we go, Wade...Mattie and I are riding out... We want to get out of the state and find a quiet place to settle down."

Wade nodded thoughtfully. "Not gonna be easy alone in this wilderness..."

"I've known worse."

"Mattie's gonna slow you down. A woman's a liability on the trail...You know that..." he added with the usual edge of mockery that he reserved for Cort, some subtle attack on his manhood. It was not having an effect this time.

"..Then I'll just have to get used to going her pace from now on. That's the way it is. That's the way it's gonna be..." he countered meaningfully.

"You gonna marry her?" Wade asked, his eyes widening in pretence of surprise.

Cort didn't answer. Wade laughed softly. "None of my damn business, huh? Can't say I blame you. Mattie's a good woman, Cort. Take care of her. I sure as hell wouldn't have..." That made him laugh at his own witticism.

His cousin smiled back, no longer fooled by the manner. "You're a mean son of a bitch, Wade. You don't need to try and prove it further.  But I owe you my thanks. You didn't need to come back for me. You most probably saved my life when you did..."

"I sure did save your worthless hide. But I don't need your thanks. I have my own reasons.  And I didn't do any of it for free. You don't think Ben Wade ever does anything for nothing, do ya? I always have something to gain..."

Cort shrugged. It could be true or it could be empty posturing. He no longer cared. "All the same, thank you. But remember this - if I see you again, I'll put a few bullets in you. Nothing's changed..." Cort warned with menace.

Ben grinned back, touching his finger to his forehead in appreciation of his cousin's threat. "Maybe. Maybe not. Somehow, I doubt that. But we shall see. We shall see..." He held out his right hand. "Shake on it. You owe me that much, Cuz?"

Cort held out his hand and the two men shook warmly. Cort then replaced his hat and loped over towards the horses, helping Mattie to mount. As he went to tighten the girth straps, Wade joined them. "Give me a moment with Mattie, huh?"

Cort flashed him a curious look but acceded to his request, walking away to give them some privacy.

Mattie bit her lip, unsure what he was about to do. She needn't have worried. He took her hand and pressed into it a small leather pouch. He spoke in a low whisper. "Five hundred dollar notes. I don't have any more on me. Looks like I'll have to rob me another train now..." he laughed.

"I can't take it!" Mattie protested, trying to hand back the money. He curled his hand around hers and insisted.

"Sure you can. Keep it quiet. No need to use it less you have to. My cousin Cort's the kind of man who likes to provide for his woman. Let him have his pride, Mattie. But I need to know you've got a little in reserve just in case things go bad. I can't do anything else for you both, darlin'. And one more thing...after today, this conversation never happened. I'll never admit to it. You know that, don't you? It's better this way."

"I know," Mattie whispered, her eyes stinging with tears. "But you're wrong about yourself, Ben. You gave me and the baby more than just a roll of banknotes. You gave me the chance of a decent life with a good man...and you gave your child a good father..."

"That's my cousin Cort... A good father..." Wade answered smartly. Mattie stopped him. 

"I didn't mean Cort. I meant you. You're a good man in your strange way, Ben Wade, although I doubt you'd ever let anyone say that about you - and live.  And you're wrong about not being a good father. You would have been. The best.  Maybe one day you will. Who knows?"

Wade laughed. "I don't plan on living that long, honey. You won't see me again... I promise. No ghosts will ever haunt you. I won't turn up one day demanding my kin..."

This time it was Mattie whose reply was enigmatic. "Maybe. Maybe not. But just so you know, you'll always be welcome...if you ever look us up again..."

That made Wade laugh even louder. "Not if your man has anything to say about it...He'd put some lead between my eyes. Have a good life, Mattie. Take care...take care of both of you...And look after my cousin while you're at it, you hear...? Good men have a tendency to short lives in these parts unless someone's there to watch their backs..."

There was nothing else to say. Wade nodded over to Cort who came forward jumping nimbly onto his own horse. "Follow north until you crest Dogtooth Ridge over there. Then pick your way down and head due east. After that, you're on your own. I don't even want to know where you're heading..."

The riders began their journey. Neither turned back, although they both felt the cool green eyes of Ben Wade following their progress until they had disappeared from view.

"What did he say to you back then?" Cort muttered a few hours later.

"He wished me well. Told me to look after you..."

"You and he...you still got unfinished business?" Cort asked shrewdly.

Mattie leaned over and touched his arm gently. "No. No unfinished business back there. What was between us is long over. You're my man. The only one I'll ever want. He's just someone I used to know...What about you and Wade? Any bad blood left there?"

Cort shook his head. "I think we both just learned a few lessons about kinship, darlin'. I've got no quarrel with him nor he with me. But I don't plan on getting to know him any better all the same. He's devious and pure evil. Yet, somewhere deep down there's still a vein of humanity.  Something pure. I wouldn't count on seeing it again though. He's too old to change now..."

Wade remained watching until the departing couple was nothing but two blurry dots lost in the landscape. He settled down with his sketch pad and pencil, leaning back against the rock as he lost himself in his task. He drew Mattie, full bodied and ripe with child, lying naked against the pillows, her hands resting protectively on her belly. Raising it to his lips, he kissed the woman and the child tenderly, rubbing his finger over both as he contemplated the intimate portrait. His future was secured. It didn't much matter what he did from now on or what happened to him in the world. The Wade bloodline would survive - and the curse of his kind was broken.  Something pure would come of his sordid story after all, untouched by the evil code by which he had been forced to live his life just to survive. This child had a chance to be a decent person untainted by any knowledge of the sins of his fathers.

Folding up the paper, he dug a hole under a rock and buried it deep, covering it with dirt and placing a stone on top to hide the disturbed ground. Then he turned back, strolling towards his men. "Where's the whiskey? I got me a feeling I'm gonna win big tonight. Empty your pockets, boys...."