Re-reading the short stories now and noticed something in "Ironwood Station". It's probably coincidence but, I just finished "Ironwood Station" whose main character was a Shawn Talon whose ancestors came over from Ireland. Seemed like he would have fit in well with the eventual Talon clan. Could he have been a character that would develop into Milo Talon - cool under pressure, really good with a gun, and with an appreciation for a fine horse.

Justintime

This is a bit of a mystery. It was written late in LL's short story career. Was he already experimenting with ideas related with the Three Families Series? I don't know. Shawn's background seems more Chantry in that his family comes from Ireland rather than France and Canada ... but Dad shifted certain ideas from one family to another as he settled in on what his plans actually were. So it is a possibility.