Drunk and Disorderly: The Morning After
By StarwinderEzra Standish blinked awake slowly, curled on his side, snuggled deep in his feather bed, snuggled up close against a nice warm body.
Nice, warm body?
It took a moment for his mind to process that, then his eyes popped open and his head popped up.
He blinked owlishly at Vin Tanner.
Vin Tanner? In *his* bed?
"Hey, Babe," the raspy drawl sounded slightly amused and Vin was smiling contentedly at him, looking as if he *belonged* in Ezra's bed.
"Are ya all right, Sweetheart?"
"Sweetheart?" Ezra almost squeaked. Oh, Lord! He really needed to catch up to whatever was going on here!
Vin rolled them so that he was leaning over Ezra, looking down into his face, "That plug ain't hurting you none is it?"
Plug? At the mention of the word the night before all came back with a rush and Ezra blanched at the thought of what he'd done.
He'd let Vin Tanner pin him. Let him drag him up the stairs.
He'd let Vin well and truly fuck him.
He'd asked Vin to tie his hands.
He'd let Vin put his plug up him.
He'd told Vin the unvarnished truth about his needs.
Lord in Heaven! Vin Tanner *owned* him.
And there was nothing he could do about it. He'd have to do whatever Tanner wanted because the man could ruin him, with a single word whispered in the right ear.
Ruin him hell!
Tanner could get him killed! Tanner could get him beaten, tarred and feathered, rode out of town on a rail, horsewhipped or hung! The list went on forever and included any type of punishment that might come to the minds of the good, decent, upstanding, self-righteous, sanctimonious people that would be outraged to learn that a "man like him," a *sodomite* dwelt in their precious community.
He had nothing to offer Tanner to buy his freedom either. He was flat broke.
He couldn't even run. Among the many misfortunes that had plagued him lately was the fact that Chaucer had come up lame. If he ran, his beloved horse would have to be left behind and he was afraid, no terrified, of what might befall his precious steed should the reason he had fled come to light.
He was royally fucked... and for what?
A goddamned royal fucking, that's what!
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the irony of it.
He should never have let it happen. He should have taken his godforsaken itchy ass to Denver or San Francisco, got it thoroughly screwed and then come back... or just kept going.
Would have. Could have. Should have.
He groaned to himself. It didn't matter now. Done was done. His ass belonged to Tanner. Literally.
His mind whirled and he felt like he was fainting.
"Ez? Babe? You're scaring me here! Come on, take a breath!" Tanner sounded frantic. "Ez! Dammit! What's the matter?"
Vin gave him a shake and Ezra sucked in air, not even realizing that he'd been holding his breath.
Vin let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned in closer, brushing kisses across Ezra's face. "Lord, you scared me, Baby. You was turning blue!"
Ezra lay frozen beneath the tender assault.
Babe? Sweetheart? Baby?
Terms of endearment.
Vin was acting like they were lovers.
Maybe the situation wasn't as dire as he'd thought.
Slowly Ezra began to relax.
After a minute, Vin drew back, his callused fingers stroked tenderly through Ezra's hair.
"Better?" he asked.
Ezra nodded, still trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. He remembered the fight with Vin and the fantastic sex that had followed. He even remembered how surprised he'd been that Vin was staying the night with him, but he couldn't recall he and Vin coming to an understanding.
Vin leaned in for another kiss, this time claiming Ezra's mouth, delving deeply, exploring it thoroughly.
Ezra moaned deeply and arched up to meet Vin. The plug pressed into him, rubbing across his pleasure spot and he jerked helplessly. His cock hardened instantly.
His legs splayed out, and he wrapped them around Vin's hips, whimpering with need.
Vin slid one hand slowly down his side, across his hip to cup an ass cheek, gripping it firmly then moving on to catch the base of the plug and begin working it in and out of Ezra's well-stretched passage.
Vin's aim was true. The plug hit Ezra's pleasure spot with every stroke and in just seconds, Ezra was writhing and squealing under Vin, humping and grinding on the plug.
Vin continued kissing him, muffling his cries with his mouth. Then just as Ezra was about to come, Vin pulled the plug out and withdrew, sitting back, kneeling with Ezra's legs still wrapped around his hips.
"Wha-?" Ezra moaned in confusion. "Please...."
"Turn over, Babe," Vin ordered, as he unhooked Ezra's legs from around his waist.
Ezra obeyed, flipping onto his belly as quickly as he could, coming up on his knees and pushing his ass back at Vin, moaning softly, "Please...."
Vin stroked one of Ezra's ass cheeks as he idly stroked his own cock with his other hand. "I'm gonna take ya, Ez. Don't you worry about that. Thing is, I want ya to offer yourself to me. Reach back and spread your cheeks. Show me that pretty little hole. Tell me what you want."
Ezra whimpered, blushing bright red in a near whole body blush, but he reached back and grabbed his ass cheeks, spreading them widely, exposing his anus to Vin.
The hole was puffy and red, well-stretched and leaking fluids from where Vin had fucked him the night before.
Ezra could feel the fluids seeping out of him, running down and over his balls. He buried his face in his pillow in humiliation, but his cock grew even harder from the shame.
He couldn't help it. It turned him on mightily to be kneeling there, naked and needy in front of Vin. He felt like such a slut. He was a slut. He'd let Vin do anything he wanted, anything at all.
Still, he never expected what Vin did next.
Vin's hands covered his, stretching him impossibly wider. Then Vin bent down and licked across the swollen and sensitive pucker.
Ezra nearly came off the bed, with a shriek that would have wakened the dead if he hadn't had his face buried in his pillow.
No one, *no one* had ever licked him there!
Oh, he knew what rimming was. He'd done it for other men but none had ever returned the favor. He had no idea that it felt so damned good!
Vin gripped Ezra's hips firmly as the gambler jerked, humped and twisted under him, squealing and shrieking into his pillow.
Vin rode Ezra's bucking easily, keeping his tongue centered on Ezra's anus, licking and probing until he felt Ezra starting to climax, then he drew back and buried his cock in Ezra with a single sure thrust, sending Ezra over the edge into a grunting, moaning climax, muffled by the pillow that Ezra was practically chewing on.
As he let Ezra's twisting and writhing climax pull his own climax from him, he thought idly that he was gonna have to invest in a gag for Ezra. Better yet, he'd invest in a place where Ezra could scream to his heart's content.
When Ezra finally went limp beneath him, Vin lay down on top of him, carefully keeping part of his weight on his elbows, so as not to hinder Ezra's breathing.
He scattered kisses across Ezra's back making no move to pull out of him, just resting and waiting for Ezra to recover.
After a few minutes, Ezra sighed heavily and murmured, "Good heavens, Mister Tanner, that was extraordinary."
"Reckon that means ya liked it."
"Oh, yes. Absolutely."
"Good." Vin fell silent for a few minutes, just resting easily on Ezra's back before saying, "I know you don't like being empty but I've gotta go on patrol and I don't think you should put the plug back in. You've had enough of that. I want you to rest while I'm gone. I'll have Miguel bring up a bath about eleven. We'll talk when I get back."
"I have afternoon patrol."
"I'll take it."
"Mister Larabee won't like that."
"I'll deal with Chris. You do like I told ya and rest."
"Yes, sir," Ezra replied sleepily.
Vin eased back and slowly pulled his cock free from Ezra's passage. Slipping from the bed he quickly cleaned up and dressed.
Before he left, he pulled the covers up over Ezra, tucking them in. Leaning over, he kissed Ezra gently then said, "I'll be back for lunch. See you then."
Ezra was half-awake, drifting in a haze of sated pleasure when the light tap came on his door just after eleven. Sighing, he called out, "Just a moment."
He rose slowly, pulling on a silk robe and picking up his Remington before answering the door. While he expected it to be Miguel with his bath water, he knew better than to assume that it was.
He cautiously cracked the door open then stood back and held it for the young Mexican man to bring in the two steaming buckets of water.
"The tub is still under the bed," he informed Miguel.
Miguel nodded and set the buckets down to get the folding tub out and set it up. Emptying the buckets into it, he left to get more.
It wasn't long before the tub was filled and a couple of extra buckets of water to rinse with set beside it.
Ezra locked the door behind Miguel and stripped off the robe. As much as he liked having Vin's cum in him, he knew that he needed to give himself an enema to clean it out of him.
He proceeded to do so, moaning softly to himself in pleasure. He had always loved enemas. They made him feel so full. It was a different fullness than having a cock inside him but equally pleasurable.
He wondered what Vin would say if he asked him to give him an enema. The tracker had accepted his desire for the plug, easily. Perhaps he would also accept Ezra's desire to be given an enema as well.
He finished with the enema and shaved. Only then did he bathe, touching and stroking himself as he did so, but not allowing himself to come.
Lord! He hoped Vin would want to fuck him again-- the sooner the better.
He was almost painfully hard as he dried himself off. He knew he'd have to do something or his condition would be all too evident, but he didn't want to come. He wanted to stay hard until Vin took him again.
With that in mind he tied one of his thin string ties around the base of his cock, pulling it snug then tying it into a bow. It would ensure that he couldn't come, but be easy for Vin to release when the tracker was ready to allow him to come. Tying a second tie around the head of his cock he pulled his cock down and strapped it to the inside of his thigh, again using a bow to secure it to make releasing it easy. It wasn't exactly painful, more just intensely uncomfortable.
Finally he began dressing. He pulled on his silk underwear, moaning as the smooth fabric caressed his bound cock. He dressed in his pinstriped black broadcloth pants and a white silk shirt, with ruffles and lace on the bib and cuffs. He chose a fine, green, brocade-silk waistcoat shot through with silver threads and put it on over the shirt. Then chose a long, dark-green frock coat to go over that.
Laying the jacket aside he put on his shoulder holster and derringer rig, foregoing the Remington side holster. The frock coat would impede it in any event.
Then he put on the jacket, checking his appearance in the full-length mirror.
He looked quite handsome, if he did say so himself, and with the waist button on the frock coat fastened, his tied down erection was invisible, while the Colt Conversion in his shoulder holster and the derringer were both easily at hand.
He stepped forward to check the split lip in his shaving mirror. It didn't look too bad, not as swollen as it had been when he had first awakened.
He picked up his hat and opened the door.
The first thing that he heard was Vin's voice drifting up from below.
"Ez didn't *ask* me ta take his patrol. Told him I was."
He couldn't hear if anyone replied and wondered if Vin's voice was that much louder than the others' voices or if he had simply become attuned to it.
He made his way down the stairs and joined the others at the table, noting that the only empty chair was beside Vin and taking it, surprised at how pleased he was that Vin had apparently held it for him.
Vin looked up at him as he sat down. "You all right, Ez?"
"I am fine, Mister Tanner. There really is no reason that you should take my patrol. I am quite capable of doing it."
"What happened to your lip?" Nathan demanded.
"Mister Tanner and I had a slight difference of opinion last evening."
"That why you're taking his patrol?" Chris asked, looking at Vin.
"Shouldn't'a hit him," Vin mumbled.
"I should not have said what I did," Ezra stated calmly, reaching for the bottle that sat on the table and pouring himself a drink.
"Was just words," Vin returned.
"Words can cut deeply. I knew that when I said it."
"You was drunk. That tongue of yours gets real sharp and mean when you're drunk."
"And I have a deplorable habit of lashing out at whomever is near when I am drunk. You do not owe me an apology any more than I owe you one. There is no need for you to take the patrol."
Vin picked up his drink and finished it in a single swallow, before snapping, "Fine, reckon you can ride along if you want. We need to talk, anyways." He stood up. "Eat your lunch. I'll meet you in the livery in a half hour."
Ezra looked after him, mimicking him, "Eat your lunch," then added, "I haven't even ordered lunch."
He turned back just as Inez set a plate in front of him. He stared at it. "I didn't order this."
"Senor Vin ordered it for you," Inez informed him, "now, eat." She flounced away.
Ezra stared at the plate, shaking his head, then picked up his fork and began to eat, secretly pleased that Vin had ordered for him.
When Ezra arrived at the stables Vin had already arranged for a livery horse for Ezra to ride and had it saddled and waiting.
"You didn't have to do that," Ezra told him.
Vin moved to pull him into a nearby stall, back into the shadows where he could kiss the gambler without fear of being seen. Holding Ezra close after the brief kiss Vin told him, "You're mine now, Ez. I look after what's mine. Take care of it."
With a moan, Ezra took Vin's hand and pressed it to his bound cock. He trembled slightly, feeling wanton and sluttish as he said, "This is yours, as well. What are you going to do about it?"
"God! Ez, you're harder'n a rock! You must be about to bust."
"I can not come, until you release it. I tied it off."
"Does it hurt?"
"It feels... incredible." Ezra moaned again as Vin ran his fingers along the bound cock.
"Can ya ride? Need to get you someplace safe to tend to that."
"Riding will be exquisite torture, but yes, I can and I... I want to. I need that sweet suffering. It will make it all the better when you permit me my climax."
Vin hugged him close, "God! You're beautiful, Ez. Want you more'n I thought possible. You just hang on. I'll get you somewhere that I can take care of you."
He kissed Ezra again before releasing him so that they could mount and ride out.
Vin knew exactly where he was taking Ezra.
There was a mountain on the trail out to Nettie Wells' place. Although it looked solid to the casual observer, it was riddled with caves, small valleys and canyons. The cave that he had in mind was the primary entrance into the hidden valleys and canyons. It had several chambers. The first was barely large enough to allow their horses to be lead through to the second chamber. The second chamber was large enough to hold their horses but the third and fourth chambers were small with narrow passageways between them that prevented more than one person passing along them at a time. With their horses in the second chamber they would have more than adequate warning of any intruders. Knowing Peso, any intruders would play hell getting past him.
The fourth chamber opened out into a small valley, completely concealed from the outside world. The valley was bit more than a half-mile long and a quarter mile wide, containing only about a hundred acres of land, but it was lush and green, watered by a clear cold spring.
It was the perfect place to tend to Ezra's needs. The gambler could be as loud as he wanted with no fear of their being discovered.
Vin set a rapid pace wanting to get Ezra where he could attend to him quickly.
They were only about a half-hour out of town when Vin heard Ezra moaning softly but continually. Looking over he saw that Ezra's eyes were glazed and the pupils dilated hugely with desire.
He drew up and reached over to catch Ezra's arm as the gambler came along side him. "Are you all right?" He demanded.
Ezra looked at him dazedly. When he finally answered his voice was a husky whisper. "The saddle... my cock rubs against it... every step the horse takes. I need, oh, God! I need...."
He shuddered suddenly and bent over the saddle horn, wrapping both hands around it, clinging to it. "I feel like I'm cumming! But I know I can't. Get me where we're going! Please! Hurry!"
Vin gave a sharp nod and took Ezra's reins. "Just hang on. It ain't far."
Ezra nodded, moaning deeply.
Vin kneed Peso into a canter and took off, leading Ezra's horse. He glanced back over his shoulder every time that Ezra's moans changed tone but the gambler was clinging determinedly to the saddle horn and managing to keep his seat.
It took less than another quarter-hour to reach the entrance to the cave. Vin leapt out of the saddle and rushed to Ezra, helping him dismount and lowering him to the ground. He knelt, holding Ezra close for a long moment until the gambler's trembling eased.
"Ya just lay right here 'n recover. I'm gonna get the horses in the cave and unsaddled, then I'll walk you through to the other side."
He pressed a gentle kiss to Ezra's forehead and helped Ezra lay down. The gambler curled into an almost fetal position, knees drawn up arms crossed over his chest to keep from reaching for his aching cock.
"I'll be right back."
Ezra only nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
Vin made quick work of unsaddling the horses, then grabbed his and Ezra's bedrolls, canteens and saddlebags and carried them through to the valley. He picked a spot, not too far from the cave exit but in the shade and covered with thick lush grass. He kicked through it to make sure that there weren't any snakes or other small animals occupying it then spread out the canvas ground cover from his bedroll and spread several blankets on top of it, laying the canteens and saddlebags close by.
He hurried back to Ezra.
The gambler was laying a bit more relaxed than he had been when Vin first helped him off his horse, but he was still clearly dazed and in dire need of sexual relief.
Vin helped him up and led him through the caves to the valley and their waiting bedrolls.
Ezra collapsed onto the bedrolls his hand reaching for his rampart cock, squeezing it through his pants.
"Huh-uh!" Vin chided him sharply. "Ya said that was mine. I'll tend to it, Babe. Ya keep your hands off or I'll have to tie them."
Ezra whimpered, but nodded, moaning, "Yes, sir."
Hearing Ezra call him "sir", seeing him obediently move his hands away from his cock, fisting them in the bedroll he lay on to keep from reaching for it again, thrilled Vin to his core. He'd never known that he would so enjoy dominating another man, but he was quickly finding that Ezra's willing submission excited him as nothing else ever had.
He dropped to his knees beside the gambler and quickly unbuttoned the frock coat, then opened Ezra's pants.
Ezra's needy moan had him yanking the pants down to get to the buttons on Ezra's silk underwear. His fingers trailed over the smooth fabric, caressing the cock trapped within before he pulled them down as well to reveal what Ezra had done to himself.
For a moment he just stared at Ezra's cock. It was fully engorged. The skin, tight almost to bursting, was a deep red all along the shaft. The head was almost purple, hard and shiny. One of Ezra's black string ties was wrapped around the head, just below the flare, then tied around his thigh to hold the cock down along side it.
A second black string tie was secured around the base, pulled tight enough to ensure that Ezra couldn't come until it was released.
He reached out and trailed one finger along the length of the cock, drinking in Ezra's whimpering cry of need. Then he caught one end of the bow that secured Ezra's cock to his thigh and pulled it loose. Slipping a finger under the remaining loop he loosened it and watched as Ezra's cock sprang up to slap loudly against Ezra's belly, the tie trailing behind it, still looped around the head.
Ezra cried out, arching up, his hips thrusting wildly, making his cock bounce on his belly, precum splattering across it.
Vin wrapped one hand around Ezra's cock and pumped it firmly as he reached for the string tie around the base with his other hand.
With a strength he didn't know Ezra had, the gambler pulled away, yanking his cock out of Vin's hand, yowling with the pain but flipping on to his belly and crawling up on his knees.
"No! NO! Please! Vin, I want you in me when I come. Fuck me. Please, fuck me, Vin!" Ezra begged.
And Vin added another new thrill to his growing list. The sight and sound of Ezra Standish on his knees begging to be fucked. Begging *Vin* to fuck him.
There was no way that he could resist. He grabbed Ezra's hips and pulled him back towards him. His fingers quickly sought Ezra's entrance, finding it slicked and ready for him.
He unbuttoned his pants one-handed, the fingers of the other delving into Ezra's eager hole. He licked his lips as he watched Ezra pushing himself back onto the exploring fingers.
"Oh, yeah," Ezra moaned encouragement, chanting blindly, eyes closed, hips pumping. "Finger fuck me. Stretch me out. Want your cock. Need you. So much, so, bad. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me. God Vin! Hurry!"
As soon as Vin had his cock free, he yanked his fingers out and rammed his cock home.
Ezra screamed. Throwing back his head, shrieking to the sky above them. "AGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! Yes! God, yes! Oh God!"
Vin drew back then slammed home again.
Ezra shifted to chanting, "So, good! So, good! Fuck! Fuck! Yes! Oh God!!! Yes!" as Vin thrust into him hard and fast.
It was only moments later that Vin felt his own climax building and reached under them to tug the string around the base of Ezra's cock loose. He drew back for one final brutal thrust, not bothering to pump Ezra's cock, knowing that the gambler would come from being fucked.
He wasn't disappointed.
Ezra shrieked what could have been Vin's name and came hard, humping and grinding his ass back against Vin.
Vin wrapped both arms around Ezra's waist and hung on, riding out the gambler's climax, joining him in it as the muscles of Ezra's ass, clenched, spasmed, clung to, then released his cock, wringing his own climax from him.
With a final moan, Ezra collapsed under him, going completely limp.
Vin collapsed on top him then rolled them to the side, letting his cock slip from the now loose passage as he cradled Ezra's limp form. He turned Ezra's lolling head so that he could see his face and noted the slack jaw and closed eyes.
He tapped Ezra's face lightly, "Ez? Babe? You all right?"
Ezra stirred weakly, then groaned. His eyelids fluttered but slid closed again. His breathing was ragged. After a long moment he wet his lips and murmured, "God! Vin, that was incredible."
"Ya passed out."
Ezra chuckled, breathlessly, "Ah know." His voice held wry amusement and contentment.
Vin bent his head to kiss Ezra gently, then asked. "Better?"
"Much," Ezra assured him, leaning his head back to smile up at Vin.
"Good," Vin said. He simply held Ezra for a while until the gambler had recovered a bit then shifted to sit up, asking, "What do ya think about this place?"
Ezra, who had shifted with him, ending up sitting between his legs, leaned back in Vin's arms, looked around. "Pretty. Very lush and green. A veritable oasis in the midst of this dusty desert."
"What would ya say, if I asked how you'd like to live here. I could build us a house."
"I seem to recall that the passageway through the caves was somewhat narrow to be hauling building materials through."
"Passages can be widened, shored up with timbers like in a mine. Can work that out iffn you'd like to live here. I's thinking it'd be real private. You wouldn't ever have to worry about trying to be quiet when I'm making ya want to howl. Same time, it's close to town. We could live here and still be in town everyday."
Ezra twisted to look up at him, "Mister Tanner... Vin, are you asking me to make this relationship permanent?"
"Yeah. Reckon I am."
Ezra looked up at him for a long moment then turned back around to look out at the valley again. After a long moment he said, "I assume from the verdant vegetation that there is a reliable water source."
"Deep spring. Ain't never knowed it to go dry."
"Why has no one ever...?" Ezra gestured vaguely.
"Most folks don't even know the cave's here. Reckon they think the mountain's solid."
They fell silent again, just sitting staring out at the valley. It should have seemed strange or awkward, given that they were both mostly naked, but it didn't. It seemed perfectly natural.
After awhile Ezra commented. "This is all rather sudden."
"I know, but I do love ya, Ez. Can tell you the exact moment that I knew I loved you."
Ezra chuckled, "Odd. I can tell you the exact moment that I knew that I *could* love you, but not the moment that I knew that I *do* love you."
"Wanna know?"
"Yes."
"Ya asked me to tie your hands and when I looked back from finding your cravat to tie them with, you were kneeling on the bed, your face turned away from me with your hands behind your back. Just waiting for me, so submissive, trusting me not to hurt you. You had to know that I coulda done anything to ya and you wouldn't've even seen it coming. That trust just stole my heart."
Vin hugged Ezra to him tightly. "Ain't nobody ever trusted me so completely like that. Right then I knew it woulda never worked with me'n Chris. I doubt he'd have ever let me take him at all and he sure wouldn't've ever turned his head away and just waited without lookin'. He'd want to see it coming, whatever it was."
"I knew you would never hurt me. You do not have it in you to hurt someone that is not trying to hurt you or someone that you care about."
Ezra sighed, then went on, "I would have never trusted Mister Larabee like that. He has a streak of violence in him. As much as I wanted him, I also feared what he might do were I to submit to him."
"So when did ya know you could love me?" Vin asked.
"When you stayed the night. No one has ever stayed the night before... and they certainly never took the wet spot. Such a small kindness but it meant so very much because no one else had ever done that."
Ezra paused then said softly, "You could do a lot better than me."
"Don't see how. You got any idea how long I've been looking for a man that'd actually want me ta take him, that needed to be fucked?" He paused a moment and when Ezra didn't say anything he went on, "I been looking for years. It ain't easy to find a man that likes being on the bottom. Most of them what let me take them only done it cause I bent over for them, but the fact is I like takin' another man, way more'n I like bein' took. Hell, me'n Chris woulda never worked on account of that alone. We're too much alike. He ain't the kind to bend over for any man without having got his first. An' me, I might bend over first but I'd damn well insist that he bend over too. You're the first man that I ever had that enjoyed, really enjoyed, being took. That's real special. You're real special. Lovin' you is about the easiest thing I've ever done and I don't see how I could do any better than spending the rest of my life with you."
Ezra leaned back into his arms, relishing the tightening of those arms around him, letting himself believe in the safety and security that he felt encircled in those arms. Relaxing he said, "If you truly want me, then I am yours, always and only, yours."
"I want ya, Ez, and I'm yours too. Always and only."
Ezra turned to smile up at him and Vin bent, sealing their promise with a kiss, gentle and tender.
Ezra was really starting to like gentle and tender.
After a long moment they broke apart. "Reckon we need to get cleaned up and dressed. Gotta finish the patrol," Vin said.
Ezra sighed, "Yes, we must."
"We get back you can start deciding how you want the house. Ya got a couple of weeks before I'll be ready to start it. It'll take that long to widen the passages and shore them up, so as I can get the materials in."
Ezra smiled and nodded as they rose and straightened their clothing and prepared to leave.
As they reached the mouth of the cave, Ezra turned to look back. "Is this the only entrance to this valley?"
"Nope. Just looks that way. Fact is there's a whole series of caves leading through to a bunch of small valleys, canyons and arroyos. There's a right nice stand of Ponderosa pines in one of them. They'd made fine logs for a cabin but we'd have to figure out how to get them over to this valley. I'll show you around when we got more time. Ya can decide where you want the house then."
Ezra nodded and smiled at him as they turned to leave.
To be continued in Drunk and Disorderly: Anniversaries