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Ezra Standish on patrol watched from a distance as Casey Wells chopped wood before moving in to proffer some assistance.
Casey greeted Ezra warmly half mentioning that her Aunt had a cold due to the weather, but that everything was just fine and that her Aunt Nettie was only slightly out of sorts.
Ezra saw through her story to realise things were not as they first appeared. Casey looked pale and the black circles under her eyes revealed how tired she actually was and her half hearted attempts to chop firewood had Ezra retrieving the axe from her hands before she caused herself injury.
"Miss Wells please permit me to assist." Ezra took off his jacket and laid it across a fence post and readied himself for manual labour.
When finished his task, Ezra, picked up some of the chopped wood and headed for the homestead front porch and piled the wood under the eves to shelter it from the elements and for it to be close to hand for the ladies.
Nettie is sitting up for a spell at the fire near the cook stove and orders Casey to look after their unexpected guest. Ezra tried to decline the offer but Nettie glared at him and he remained silent.
Ezra had a cunning plan as his offer of further assistance from him including that of the towns regulators had been refused point blank. So he devised a way to help Casey out in her time of need. He took a sly look round and noticed many small areas that needed urgent fixing and took a mental note in his head what was required to make good the repairs before heading back to town.
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The evening shadows fell as Casey sat close to the fire and daydreamed of the tales her Aunt had told her of folk who hid away from the view of mortals and only appeared to do some service to the people they regarded with favour. Casey exhausted raised her tired face to the roof and wished with all her heart that these fairy people did exist as she could do with some extra help - but she, like her
Aunt was too stubborn to ask - no, that would be charity - they didn't need folks charity, didn't need them interfering.
The next day Nettie was much worse and Casey had pushed herself to care for her but never mentioned that she too had a fever and felt ill. She had tried her best to do all the chores round the house, but she hadn't been able to do them all. When she went to bed early, she felt very sick and was so exhausted that she fell immediately into a restless sleep with strange dreams of fairy folk.
The weather had turned during the evening and the ground was now covered with snow.
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A shadowed figure, visited the homestead in the darkness and snuck round and noted that the light in the cabin had been extinguished. He took care of out door chores but listened intently in case anyone overheard him and stepped outside to investigate.
It was much later that Ezra crept stealthily inside and the only light came from the flickering embers of the fire. Having satisfied himself that everybody was asleep, he set to work . He brought in some wood which he placed upon the fire, and bending down upon his knees, he blew the embers until the fire blazed then banked it so it's heat would filter into the room and would burn slowly. Taking a hurried glance round to see if he might be observed, he was satisfied that all was well and continued his chores in silence.
Ezra had purchased food from the restaurant in Four Corners and transferred a thick hearty stew into a suitable pot and set it on the stove after he had lit it in order to keep it warm. He took out of his bag a fresh baked loaf and set it down on the kitchen table and alongside it laid out a couple of tins, a fresh made apple pie and a lump of cheese wrapped in paper.
Looking at his handiwork, Ezra smiled and folded his arms then nodded with satisfaction. "This will surprise them," he whispered to himself, "Now it's time I was off." He noted it was near dawn and opened the door to make good his departure.
He was surprised to find that during the night, when he had been so busy, the snow had fallen thicker than he had anticipated and it had drifted in the high winds blocking the door - his only exit.
Ezra quickly drew back the curtains and tried the windows, but they were blocked too, so he could find no exit that way. Standing in the middle of the floor he considered what he should do. Quick to react in such situations he swiftly hit upon a plan of escape. He went to the fireplace and prepared to climb up the chimney; but as he stepped upon the jamb of the fireplace, the smoke from the slow burning fire tickled his nose and he sneezed and fell with a thump down heavily onto the floor. He undid his cravat and tied it round his face and began to climb once again.
This untoward noise disturbed Casey and she groggily got up to see if her Aunt Nettie was up and about, but she saw the green Jacket of Ezra Standish beside the fireplace and she stared in surprise and rubbed at her eyes, and when she looked again he was gone. She was sure she had been dreaming.
Ezra had quickly climbed up the chimney and vanished, thankful he had banked the fire so it smouldered but he had still managed to burn his hands and they would need some tending too later. He ploughed through deep snow towards the barn where he had left his horse to take him back to town.
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Casey was sure she hadn't been dreaming but her Aunt said it must have been due to her fever as she had been unwell for a day or two- so next time Casey was in town she would investigate.
"Even the outside chores had all been done, Betsy had been milked, the chickens had been fed, the stables mucked out -" Casey announced to them all in awe.
"Did ya see prints in the snow?" asked Vin.
"No - funny that," Casey looked puzzled, "No footprints - none at all - I looked for sure - only mine!"
Casey was explaining what she had seen while sipping a mug of coffee in the Sheriff's office with only five of the seven regulators present, as Nathan and Ezra were out of town on a chore.
"Don't be stupid Casey - Ez wouldn't do chores-" grinned JD as he nudged at his girlfriends shoulder with his elbow.
"Well not unless he was forced." Chimed in Josiah.
"He'd do it for Chris!" Winked Vin with a smirk.
"Yeah, he is afraid of Chris' glare." added Buck as he tried not to laugh at the said glare directed towards him.
"Sure doesn't sound like Ezra," Chris spoke for the first time and continued, " Casey, must have been the fever playing tricks on ya!"
They all nodded finally in agreement and dismissed Casey's story as being caused by her fever.
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At around the same time 1 days ride away from Four Corners....
"How ya feeling Ezra?" asked Nathan riding alongside Ezra Standish who was holding his reins lightly in one leather gloved hand.
"Mr. Jackson I am fine."
"Yeah and if you take those gloves off for me I will take another look at yer hands." Nathan craned his neck across to look down at Ezra's gloved hands an swiped at them to prove his point.
"As I have said on numerous occasions over the past 2 days Sir, my hands do not require your administration."
"Ezra, let me be the judge of that." Nathan glared at Ezra and shut up knowing he would not get any assistance from Ezra until they had stopped for the night.
In a lamplit hotel room in Eagle Bend....
"Ezra I will not take no for an answer - lets see those hands - NOW!" Nathan had watched Ezra caring for his horse and the way Ezra had been acting over the last couple of days and the healer knew from experience that he was in severe pain.
Ezra groaned and rolled his eyes and muttered some French swearwords under his breath.
"Huh, yer not fooling me Standish, recognise those words - Josiah said they were French and rather crude ones if I am correct." Nathan grinned seeing the shock on Ezra's face and burst out laughing as he set down a bowl of water and a clean cloth and some carbolic to tend to Ezras burned hands.
"Don't know why yer keeping yer hands covered up so," complained Nathan, " still not going to tell me how you got those burns?" Nathan tilted his head to one side in enquiry but saw the shake of Ezras head and knew he wouldn't reveal his secret. Nathan gently attended to Ezras hands.
"It is my business Mr Jackson and mine alone, I would appreciate it that you do not reveal this " Ezra turns his burned palms upwards to Nathan as a way of indicating his wishes, "to anyone."
"Consider it done." announced Nathan as he finished with the dressings to each hand. He was surprised when he heard the gambler next speak.
"Thank you Nathan." Ezras words were whispered and Nathan beamed back at him knowing it was for keeping his confidence as well as tending to his burns.
The End.