Nathan came out of his room, stood by the railing and gazed
down the street. It was another hot, sunny morning.
Vin was strolling down the street. He walked loose and easy,
but Nathan knew he was keenly alert to everything around him.
From his vantage point, Nathan could also see Chris, Buck,
and JD sitting out front of the jail, across the street from the saloon. Ezra was probably
inside the saloon, fully engaged in a game of chance.
He sighed, contentedly. He'd never felt so at home in his
life. The plantation wasn't home. Nowhere back east was home.
But here. Here it was different. It was the Seminoles made
him think this was the place for him. But it was these other men that made him sure of it.
And yet it seemed strange to feel so at ease with six white
men. He wasn't sure why that was, either. He never thought such a thing could happen,
considering his family had been slaves of white men, and it was white men nearly strung
him up. Maybe because these six men never questioned if he "fit in" with them or
not. Maybe because when they looked at him, he didn't feel like their vision stopped at
the surface of his skin.
Even the Southerner. Nathan hadn't thought much of him at
first. Was ready to teach him a thing or two about colored folk, too. But the two of them
seemed to reach a level of understanding. He never thought he could like Ezra's kind of
people, but he had to admit he liked Ezra. He never ceased to be surprised when he and
Ezra came out on the same side in a cause. Ezra just had a funny way of makin' his
feelin's known. Like with that Chinese girl.
Until now, Nathan hadn't really stopped to ponder how much
his life had changed since coming here. Well, since Chris and Vin rode into town.
Now he was a healer with a gun. Odd thing to be, he thought
ruefully. Like he couldn't make up his mind. He supposed it was two kinds of healin'. If
you couldn't fix it with a bandage, you fixed it by what Buck and Chris liked to call
"a little show of force."
He turned to go inside and get his hat, before joining them
outside the jail. From inside, he heard the sound of gunshots. He reached for his gun even
as he hurried out of the room.
Whatever it was, it had ended quickly. Vin was clutching his
arm, and Chris, Buck and JD were already hauling a couple of drunken cowboys into the
jail.
Nathan shook his head. Another one hurt. Those boys was
always gettin' themselves into somethin'. Sometimes he envied that. They were out
rough-and-tumblin' around, while he was brewing teas and applying poultices. And bandages.
But if he didn't do it, who would? Besides, it was nice to
be needed.
Yep, he fit right in.
The End
