Chapter 14

CAUTION!!!  This chapter is a little dark at the beginning.  We see a side of Hannibal Heyes we don't often see.  If that make you nervous, do not proceed!


Kid woke up shortly after dawn and Heyes was gone.   Gone on his horse.  He had played right into his hands. Had  he known  Heyes was planning to slip out on his own to hunt down that killer, he never would have taken his eyes off him.  It wasn’t like Heyes to be this reckless or this stupid.  But then again it wasn’t like him to fall in love either.  And that’s just what had happened.  Heyes wasn’t thinking straight because he was too riled up over Evie being in trouble.  And the reason he was so riled up, was because he was punch drunk with love.  Shoot, he was riled up himself and he wasn't in love with the girl.  He could only imagine the torment Heyes was enduring.  How did this happen?  He didn't think Heyes even believed in falling in love.  Not since they'd become wanted men.  He knew Heyes enjoyed a woman's company as much, or maybe more than the next man.  But love?  Dang it!   He never had gotten around to having that serious talk with Heyes.  Oh, well, he doubted if it would have done any good anyway.  Heyes was already head over heels when he’d found him three days ago.  Although he didn't think Heyes even realized it.

Kid made quick work of packing the gear and saddling the mule.  He didn’t have any time to lose.  He had to get to Heyes as soon as possible.  He knew what he was planning.   He wanted to get there alone, so he could take a little revenge on the bad guy, without him there to stop him or talk him down.  He wanted to kill the man.  Kid understood.  He’d wanted to kill men before, too.  It was hard enough to live with another man's blood on your hands when the other man was shooting back. That old saying, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight" came into his mind.  Because that's just what was going to happen.  That murderer had only been carrying a knife when he'd taken Evie.  He'd obviously thrown Heyes' revolver and Evie's rifle in the river, because they couldn't find either one.  And Heyes was headed right for him and he had a big red target in the middle of  his chest and only a knife to defend himself.   If Heyes accomplished what he was setting out to do, Kid was afraid he'd never be able to live with the regret.  Plus he didn't know how it might affect their amnesty.  He had to catch up to him and fast.  He looked Jenny in her bulging brown eyes.  "I may not have a way with horses or mules, but I do have a way with the ladies. And since you're a lady, I got one favor to ask.  Will you get the lead out of your butt and move! We've got some catchin'  up to do."   She brayed loudly as he climbed onto her saddled back.  "I hope that was you agreein' with me.  Let's go puddin' foot."

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Kid had been right.  They had stopped after darkness fell.  He squatted. now by the unmistakable outline of two people who had lain side by side.  He touched the smaller of the two indentions on the mossy ground.  She had lain here just a few hours ago.  He closed his eyes as he recalled the nights he'd held her close while she'd slept.  He remembered the smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, the sound of her breathing.  He felt like his heart was caught in a vice.  Then he  looked at the larger indention, only  a scant foot away from hers.   And he recalled how hard it had been to keep from touching her, how hard he had fought with himself to resist the temptation her beauty and spirit had presented.  And how he'd finally given in to that temptation that night in the cave.  How it had felt to hold her close and kiss her.   This lech wouldn't even try to fight the temptation.  Unless the price of a virgin was more tempting,  Evie was probably in big trouble.  The thought of this gutless barbarian laying one filthy finger on her made his blood boil.  He scooped up a handful of the earth from the spot where she had been lying and balled it into his fisted hand then slung it into the trunk of the nearest tree with a splat.  Before climbing back in the saddle, he reached into the saddlebag and removed Evie's memory bag. He'd placed it inside this morning before he'd rode out.  He looked at her angelic face in the tintype photograph, then took the soft lock of her baby hair and ran it gently across his fingers.   Don't be afraid, sweetheart.  I'm coming.  And when I get there, he'll never hurt you or anybody else again.  


The next time he stopped it was to briefly  check the ammo in his rifle and water the horse.  While the horse drank, he changed from his tan  jacket to his blue coat.  Evie's coat.  The sun had been behind the clouds since mid morning.  And the noonday air was chilly.  She was probably freezing.  He wanted it to be warm from his body heat when she put it on. He was closing in on them.  It wouldn't be long now.

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She had tried to think of a way to escape.  But hunger and exhaustion were befuddling her brain. And her mind was totally preoccupied with how cold she was in her flimsy dress.   She had no idea how long they had been riding or in what direction they were going.  There was no sun to guide her and this forest seemed endless.  Her head drooped wearily forward.  She was about to fall asleep, or pass out.  She didn't really care anymore.  She was so tired.  So tired.  Joshua.  Harlan had roused her shortly after dawn with a not so gentle boot to her ribs.  She had been dreaming of Joshua and the kiss they had shared in the cave.  Oh how she wished she were back in that cave with him.  They had been riding for at least five hours.  It must be close to noon.  Despite her best efforts to keep her faith and her hope in tact,  she was beginning to give up hope that Joshua or Thaddeus or anyone was ever going to find her.  Her eyes closed and she was just about to give in to her exhaustion when the horse stepped from the ocean of trees into a glade.  The sound of the rushing river now unmuffled by the dense forest, roared loudly making her more alert.  She scanned the gorgeous scenery with droopy eyes..  Had she not been so tired, hopeless and in despair at her situation, she would have been in awe of the beauty of this place.  A bend in the  wide river was split in half by a huge cliff jutting from the middle of the earth where the dense forest grew. The river was beginning its south westerly route towards the Rio Grande.   The rolling waters cascaded like carpets being rolled down a staircase on either side of the huge rock formation to converge into white foaming rapids at the base some twenty feet below.  How wonderful it would have been to discover this wonder of natural beauty with Joshua.  Thinking of Joshua in her tired state must have her hallucinating.  She could have sworn she saw a rider, much like Joshua, in the dim light of the trees on the other side of the glade, riding fast towards her.  But if she was seeing things  then she was hearing things too.  Because she could hear the sound of each hoovebeat as it pounded the ground.  As she continued to watch the vision,  it got closer and grew clearer.    Hope swelled in her breast.  Joy sprang anew in her heart.  It wasn't a vision.  It was Joshua!

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He had come up behind them shortly after noon.  He'd silently followed them for nearly a mile.  When he was satisfied that Evie was not in immediate danger,  he turned his horse west and using his superior horsemanship, galloped swiftly through the forest, dodging in and out of trees, then he'd turned southward again.  He was going to cut them off at the pass.  How easy it would have been to put a bullet in his back and this whole nightmare would be over.  But that would have been too good for the son of a bitch.  No, Heyes wanted him to see him coming.  To know who he'd crossed.  And why it had been a mistake to cross him.  His last mistake.  He'd emerged from the trees into  the grassy glade about fifteen minutes before Evie and her captor.  He had ridden into the trees on the opposite side of the grassy clearing that was about twenty yards wide.  And he waited.

 As he rode  out of the woods now into the open meadow, Heyes  relished the look of shocked surprise on the man's face.  He'd never gotten a good look at the man until now and Heyes was astonished.  The man was grotesque.  He was tall and thin.  He was completely bald on top with thin scraggly wisps of long stringy hair hanging down to this shoulders.  He had a large hooked nose and a severely receding chin and eyes that seemed to be in a perpetual squint.  His teeth were rotten, his unshaven face was marred with pock marks and his clothes were so dirty that the original color of them was indistinguishable.  He wanted to run and grab Evie off the horse and away from the filthy beast, but he didn't know what kind of weapons he might have hidden so he stayed back a few feet.  He would have to handle this right if he was going to get  Evie and himself out of this alive.   As he rode closer he pulled the rifle from its scabbard.  When he dismounted he sought Evie's face.  Her beautiful face was  awash with disbelief and relief.  He tried as best he could without speaking to tell her not to be afraid it was going to be alright.   He took in the sight of her magnificent wealth of glorious hair, tangled and matted with leaves and debris.  She almost shivered in the thin summer dress, too thin for the cool October weather, even in Texas.   Her usually bright shining eyes were dull with dark circles beneath.  And then he saw the blueish discoloration on her right jawline.  Never in his twenty-nine years had he wanted to kill someone this badly.  He never thought he could be as angry as he had been the day his family had been slaughtered by raiding soldiers.  Or when he and Jed had been dropped at the front gate of the orphans home like two sacks of bad feed.  Or when Danny Bilson had left them and old Seth for dead out in the middle of the desert after he'd stolen their hard earned gold.  But those times paled in comparison to the rage he felt inside right now.  Imagining he'd touched her was nothing when faced with the reality that he had dared to hit her.  He felt his self control slipping.

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 She sat up taller in the saddle to get a better view of him over Rusty's perked ears.  He was the most welcome sight Evangeline had ever seen.  He reined in the gelding as he pulled a rifle from the saddle scabbard and dismounted all in one fluid motion.   Harlan brought Rusty to a halt.  From behind her Evie could hear his disgruntled growl of frustration.
She couldn't believe her eyes.  He was alive.  He was alive and he was here.  He had come for her.  Their eyes locked from across the few yards that now separated them.  His soul spoke to her through those beautiful brown eyes more loudly than words could have.   Every thing's going to be alright.  I'm here now. She instinctively moved to go to him.  But she was stopped short by her tethered hands, and by Harlan's thighs that suddenly gripped hers tight from behind.   Her eyes lingered on Joshua's face.  His beautiful face that she had missed so much.  The face she feared she would never see again.  She shuddered slightly when a  visible change came over his face as he took in her condition.  She must bear the marks of the abuse she had suffered at Harlan's hand.  His jaw became rigid,  his lips pursed, his nostrils slightly flared.  And as he turned them towards her cruel abuser, his eyes turned cold.

"Afternoon."  The greeting was not friendly. Rusty began to nicker and prance at the sound of Joshua's voice, his regal head straining upwards.  Joshua walked leisurely closer .  The rifle in the crook of his arm his black hat low over his eyes.  When he was only a few feet in front of her captor,  he pushed his hat back on his head and smiled up at him with a smile that did not reach his eyes.    "I think you got some things that belong to me and I think I want them back."    He took another step closer, holding the rifle in his right hand his finger on the trigger.  He braced the butt of the rifle against his hip as he pointed it at Harlan and said calmly, "Now."

Even looking down at him, his body language, his posture and eerie calm voice, made Joshua a daunting figure.  But even if Joshua had not been armed, he would have been formidable.  Evie could feel the fumes of rage coming from him.  As she sat atop the horse and took in the whole scene she almost felt sorry for Mr. Mathis.  She didn't think he was going to fare well in this fight.  Especially if.....wait a minute.  Where was Thaddeus?

"Untie her."

Harlan, his eyes never leaving Joshua, did as he was told and unwound the leather thongs from the saddle horn but did not unbind her wrists.

"What makes you think anything I got belongs to you?"

Evie could not believe  Harlan had the nerve to even speak.

"Well, we all know the horse belongs to me.  So that  means everything on the horse belongs to me too.   Including you.  Get down."

The cold calm of his voice let Harlan know he should probably do what he was told.  He dismounted the horse   and  stood  there, arms raised in surrender, staring at the man he'd knocked unconscious with a rock yesterday morning.
 
"What's your name?"  Joshua asked with forced pleasantness.

Evie was confused.  Why did he want to know this miscreants name?  If he wanted to know she would tell him.  Miles away from here.  She would tell him miles away from here.  Why weren't they riding out of here and leaving him stranded.  If he meant to kill the man surely he would have done it by now. What was he doing?

When he didn't answer, Joshua slowly raised the rifle and jammed the barrel into Harlan's chest.  He smiled that smile again.  The one that didn't reach his eyes.  "I asked you question."

"Mmmathis.  Harlan Mathis,"  he stammered out.

"Hum?  Never heard of you.  But I bet you've heard of me,"  Joshua said, the unamused smile never leaving his face.

Now Harlan was confused.  And a little worried.   Who was this man?  He wasn't no lawman he was sure about that.  But he spoke and walked with an arrogant confidence of somebody who was either with the law or on the other side of it.  "Who are you mister?"

"Well my friends call me Heyes."  The smile disappeared.  " Only my mother called me Hannibal."

Evangeline was stunned.  What was he doing?  What did he hope to accomplish by making up such a tale?  Did he hope to intimidate Harlan by making him believe he was an outlaw?  Joshua let's just go.  She silently begged.

"You?  Are Hannibal Heyes?"  Harlan looked skeptically at the cold eyed man in front of him.  "And that other fella?"

"Oh that's my cousin.  You've probably heard of him too.  Jed Curry?  But his friends call him Kid."

Harlan began to nervously scan the surrounding area, expecting a shot to plug him in his chest any second.

  

"Ah, relax.  He's not here.  Yet.  He'll be along later.  I thought you and me should get better acquainted before I introduce you to him.  See, he's not nearly as nice as I am.  In fact sometimes he can get down right mean.  And you know what makes him madder than an old wet hen?  When a man mistreats a lady.  And from the looks of it I'd say you like hitting ladies."

"Maybe some ladies need hittin'."

Heyes looked briefly at the ground and shook his head,  his face a mask of barely controlled fury.  Then quick as a whip he laid a staggering left hook into Harlan's nose.  His head snapped back and then he fell to the ground, stunned. Blood began to ooze from his right nostril. 

Heyes laid the rifle on the ground and  went to stand over Harlan's sprawling figure. He placed his knee squarely in the center of Harlan's chest before removing his huge knife from its sheath and tossing it far into the distance.  He  grabbed the collar of Harlan's dingy shirt, pulled his head up off the ground and backhanded the villainous devil across his right jaw, just like he had obviously done to Evie.  "Not so tough without a rock in your hand are you?"  Another fist in the mouth.  "Harder to fight a man than a woman ain't it, especially  face to face."  A  swift uppercut to the chin.  "I just wish I had a wagon wheel to tie you to."  Another head jarring backhand.  "When I'm done with you you'll wish you'd never laid eyes on her, let alone your filthy stinking hands."  Another right hook to the jaw.  He was out.  His head dangled backwards, his face covered with blood, several of his rotten snaggly teeth lay on the ground near his mangled head.  Heyes let go of his collar and let him drop roughly to the ground.  

Evie had cringed with every blow.  She could hear every sickening thud as Joshua's gloved fists made contact with Harlan's face.   When he let Harlan's unconscious body drop to the ground, he rose slowly and turned to face her.   His chest rose and fell rapidly with the pent up anger he was still trying to contain.  Their eyes met again and they spoke silently to each other.  He came to her and cut her bonds with his pocket knife.  Simultaneously he reached for her as she slid from the saddle and into his waiting arms  .  His arms encircled her waist, lifting her off the ground.  Her arms  went around his neck while her face burrowed into this strong shoulder.   Time seemed to be frozen as they stood there locked in a wordless embrace.  Finally he set her on the ground and slightly away from him.  He had to remove her arms from around his neck, as she was reluctant to sever the contact.  She understood why when he removed his coat, the coat he had given her to wear before, and placed it around her shoulders.  She slid her arms into the sleeves, reveling in the warmth and scent of Joshua's body that still clung to the material.  He pulled the front together and  fastened the buttons.  He searched her eyes again, needing to know but not wanting to ask her, what the bastard had done to her.  He removed his gloves to  place a gentle hand on her bruised jaw and broke the silence,  "Did he....?"   He couldn't say it out loud.  

She knew what he was asking.  "No, he didn't."

  

He let out a long sigh of relief as he cupped her face in his hands and laid his forehead against hers.  They stayed like that for what seemed like endless moments.  And in those moments it was like the rest of the world disappeared.  It was just the two of them safe in each others arms.  Then somehow, neither one knew which one had moved first,  their lips were touching.  Then their mouths were melding in a slow,  deep,  soul stirring kiss.  It was a life affirming kiss, filled with pent up emotions.  They had come so close to losing each other, and their relief at having cheated tragedy and their joy at having found each other again was expressed now with this one unrestrained, passionate kiss.  He forced himself to break the kiss.  "When I found your clothes all cut up I thought the worst.  If he had done that to you, I don't think i could have kept from killing him."

"You came pretty close to killing him anyway,  I think."  They looked in unison at the limp, lifeless body lying on the ground a few feet away.  Then back to each other. 

 "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Just my wrists."  He picked up the rifle and hand in hand they walked down to the river's edge were he bathed her burning wrists with cool water.  As he gingerly dabbed the cold water on her wrists with his bandanna, she noticed his knuckles were gashed open in several places. "Oh, look at your hands.  You're bleeding."

"It's nothing,  I don't even feel it." 

She took the damp bandanna from his hands and began to swab  his raw knuckles,  "Liar.  And you're quite a good liar too.  I almost believed you when you told him you were Hannibal Heyes."

He didn't respond.  She looked up from her ministrations and into his guilt ridden eyes.  She saw the truth in them.  Her hands went still.  Her face went a little pale.  “That was a lie, wasn’t it.  I mean you’re not really....”   She never got to finish her question.  She was  grabbed from behind in an iron clad choke hold, the cold steel blade of a knife pressed tightly to her cheek.

Instantaneously, Heyes stood and pointed his cocked rifle at Harlan’s head.  Harlan began to walk Evie backwards closer to the edge of the twenty foot drop where the river cascaded below.

“Let her go.”  Heyes demanded.

“Put the gun down.”   Harlan countered.

Heyes fired another shot at the villain’s feet missing by only scant inches.  “The next one goes in your head, Mathis.  Now let her go!”

The monster swung Evie around so that she was teetering on the edge of the precipice, never relinquishing his choking grip on her throat.  She pulled at his arm, struggled for breath against the crushing force of his it,  but as she struggled the loose earth under her feet, softened from the recent heavy rain, crumbled and fell to the rushing rapids below.  She went still.   If she kept struggling or he let go of her she would fall. 

“You shoot me and she falls.”

Heyes could see that her feet were skidding on the loose crumbly earth.  If he killed Mathis, then Evie would go over the edge as well.  Dammit!  How could he have been so stupid as to leave that bastard alone for even minute.  Why hadn’t he just shot him the minute he saw him ride out of the trees.  Because your not a killer like he is, that's why.  And your ego just had to let him know who you really were.  I hope your happy with yourself now you idiot.  He scolded himself for being so reckless and foolish with Evie’s life and his own.  Think Heyes, you’re smarter than this asshole.  Use that silver tongue of yours and get Evie out of this mess.


“Alright.”   He laid the gun on the ground beside him.  “The gun is down.  Now bring her away from the edge.”

Harlan didn’t comply.  “You know I been thinkin’.   I can only get a scant thousand dollars out of her.  But you.  You’re worth a cool ten thousand.  And I do believe that’s dead or alive. With that kind of money I won’t have to sell her.  I think I’ll just keep her for myself.”   He brought his bruised and bloodied face next to Evie’s and licked the side of her cheek.

Evie shivered with revulsion and Heyes quivered with rage.  He wanted so desperately to rush him and take him down and finish what he’d started earlier and beat the life out of him.  But he knew he would throw Evie over the edge.  Or maybe slit her throat and then throw her over.  He stood there feeling helpless.  Kid, why did  I ever leave you?

“Bet your wishing you’d never left me behind this morning now, ain’t ya?”

The familiar voice of his partner was like the sweetest music Heyes had ever heard.

Kid Curry watched as three heads snapped around in his direction.  He walked slowly and deliberately towards the three to stop beside his partner. He removed his leather glove from his right hand as he walked.  He placed that hand reassuringly on Heyes’ shoulder, “Could you use a little help?”

He was answered with a wilted look of pure relief.  Kid turned steely blue eyes on the man holding Evie carelessly close to the edge of the cliff side.  “Mister, it looks like you haven’t been treating my friends very nice.  I don’t like it when my friends get mistreated.  Especially my lady friends.  In fact when my friends get mistreated I can get down right mean.”

“See, I told you,”  Heyes quipped,  his cocky confidence on the rise now that his partner was by his side.

"Well, this must be the infamous Kid Curry,"   Harlan said.

Kid turned a puzzled look on his partner, 'How'd he know that?"

"I kinda told him who we are,"  Heyes said sheepishly.

"Sheesh, Heyes!  Why'd you go and do a fool thing like that?"

Heyes just shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

Well, looks like I'm still doin' the thinkin'.   And the shootin'. Kid thought to himself.

“How about I make you a deal."  Kid addressed his nemesis.  " You take your arm from around he neck and set her away from the edge,  and I’ll let you walk all the way to the next sheriff’s office.  Or you can keep holding her like that and you can limp there on your bad leg.”

"What bad leg?"

"The one I'm gonna blow a hole in if you don't let her go."

Harlan laughed his squealy laugh.  "You won't shoot.  You know if you do I'll let her fall."   When Heyes bent slowly down to retrieve his rifle Harlan pressed the knife to her temple. "That's if I don't cut her up first."

"Are you a gambling man, Mathis?  If you are then you know that you toss in your hand when the odds are against you.  You got no chance of getting out of this alive if you don't bring her away from that edge," Heyes reasoned.

The cutthroat thought about that for a long moment.  Then hesitantly, he stepped away from the edge.  He swung Evie around in front of him, using her for a human shield.  Her skirts billowing in the wind completely hid his lower body  from the view of the two outlaws who stood side by side staring him down.  This was his only chance.  He had to make it count.  Who would have guessed he would be looking at collecting the bounty on not one but two of the most wanted men in the west.  Curry and Heyes.  Yes, sirree, his luck was about to change.  He had to time it just right.  Then he could turn in their dead bodies for the reward and keep the sweet thing in front of him as a bonus.

Heyes and the Kid, both relieved that Evie was away from the edge, watched and waited for him to let her go.  But he just stood there, like he was thinking hard about something.  Heyes lowered the rifle back to the ground.  “We won’t shoot if you let her go.”

Kid just stood there with his arms crossed in his unique Kid Curry stance,  never taking his eyes off Harlan.  He had learned in all his years of having to stare down men who had challenged him or called him out,  the look in a man’s eye when he was ready to draw.  Something just didn’t feel right about this.

Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion.  When in reality it happened faster than blinking an eye.

Harlan released his hold on Evie’s neck, ducked down behind her,  and pulling Heyes’ hidden revolver from his boot, ducked behind her full skirts and aimed the gun at Heyes.  Evie watched paralyzed as the Colt at Thaddeus side fairly leaped into his hands and he shot Harlan in his right wrist, sending the Smith and Wesson flying from his hands before he could even get a shot off.

He rolled on the ground, groaning in pain.  And he rolled too close to the crumbly edge.  As he rolled over he grabbed for anything that would keep him from falling.  And the closest thing to him was Evie’s skirts.  She fell onto her back and was dragged by Harlan’s falling weight closer to the edge.

Heyes and Kid ran to her.  When they got there, she was grasping onto roots that were growing from the cliff side to keep from going over.  Harlan was dangling in mid air holding onto Evie’s ankle with his left hand.   Cold water from the crashing white rapids below sprayed up and soaked both Evie and Harlan’s clothes, making them even heavier.  The boys each grabbed one of Evie’s arms, and pulled.  The weight was almost too much for them.

“You hold onto her, I’ll try and pull him up,”  Kid yelled over the sound of the rushing waters.

Kid reached over as far as he could.  “Take my hand!”  Harlan reached and grabbed Kid’s outstretched hand, but his injured wrist  had no strength and he lost his grip, falling back.  When he did he pulled Evie a little further down.

“Kid I can’t hold her much longer!”  Heyes called desperately.

Kid rushed back to sit with Heyes between his legs, just like they were getting ready to go for a sled ride.  Putting his hands around Heyes  middle he pulled him, as Heyes pulled Evie.  Then all of a sudden they heard a high pitched scream and the load became very light and the two men fell backwards with the soaking wet Evie in tow.  Harlan Mathis, unable to hold on with one hand had fallen to his death.

The exhausted threesome lay panting on the ground.  Evie sprawled across Heyes chest, and Heyes against the Kid’s.

“Somebody needs to move or I’m gonna suffocate,”  the Kid finally said.

The three slowly made their way to their feet.

“Is it over?”  Evie asked breathlessly.

“Yes, sweetheart it’s over.”

She looked so pale and fragile.  “Kid Curry?  And Hannib....”  She fell in a dead faint.

Heyes caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her into his arms.

"I'll get a fire started.  You start getting her out of those wet clothes."

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Kid was slightly amused at the sight of his partner trying to figure out how to undress the  girl.

"Heyes, your just gonna have to take a hold of 'em and pull 'em off."

"Yeah, I guess your right, Kid."

"Well, it's not like you ain't been dying to get her out of her clothes anyway,"  Kid said under his breath.

"I heard that.  Get me a blanket over here will ya?"  Boy I could sure use a cigar and a good stiff whiskey about now, he thought.

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Her coat, dress, shoes, and socks all hung by the fire on the makeshift clothes line Kid had fashioned out of a couple of sturdy branches and a piece of rope.  He sat by the fire now watching his partner' s uncomfortable attempt to remove Evie's wet undergarments.

“I'm telling you, Heyes, you’re just gonna have to take hold of ‘em and pull ‘em off her,”  Kid said, seeing his partners obvious indecision about how to go about the task.  "You act like you've never seen a necked woman before."

"This is different, Kid.  The women I've seen naked, wanted me to see 'em naked. And they were awake at the time.  And they were doin' the undressing themselves."  A thoughtful stare. "Well, most of the time anyway.  But that's not the point."

"You want me to do it?"

"NO!"

He couldn't put it off any longer.  He bit the proverbial bullet and quickly stripped her down to her birthday suit.  Keeping his eyes averted as much as possible he cocooned her in the blanket then laid her gently near the fire, his tan jacket folded under her head for a pillow. He sat next to her and with tender hands removed the leaves and twigs that were clinging to her beautiful wet hair.  He would let her body and her mind rest awhile before he woke her.

"What the devil were you thinking Heyes, going off by yourself to hunt that crazy bastard down.  How many times do I gotta remind you that I'm the only thing that's been keeping you alive all these years."

"I know that Kid, and I'm sorry I left you and took your horse.  But something came over me yesterday that I can't explain.  When we found her clothes all cut up,  it was like my mind went blank of any thought except putting my hands around his throat and just squeezing the life out of him."   The last words were said through clenched teeth.  "When I rode out this morning it was with the intention of hunting him down and killing him. And I wanted your hands to be clean, so I decided I had to go alone.  Kid I don't believe in killing people, you know that.  But I lost all reason when I was thinking that he had touched her."

"Something came over you, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I was just let the anger get the best of me."

"And?"

"And, I couldn't just let him get away with everything he did."

"And?"

"And what?  Why do you keep saying that?"

"You forgot to say, 'And I love her'."

A worried frown creased Heyes brow.  Love?  Him?  Hannibal Heyes?

"Heyes, you do realize that's what came over you, don't ya.  Your stupid with love for that girl.  Being in love makes men do stupid things, even geniuses like Hannibal Heyes."

The worried frown turned into a puzzled grimace.

 Then he looked at the sweet face of the young woman lying peacefully next to him and his face softened with longing and adoration.

"I guess we both knew that sooner or later one of us would find the one girl we wouldn't want to give up.  The one we wouldn't be able to leave behind.  Is she that girl,  Heyes?"

"I don't know, Kid.  I just know that I was going out of my mind with worry.  The thought of that dirty bastard touching her made me want to choke him with my bare hands.  And you know I don't get that way.  I've always been able to love 'em and leave 'em.  How many men could be intimate with a woman one night and the next day turn her over to a federal marshall for bounty money.  That's how easy it's always been for me."

Kid's eyes grew wide with surprise.  "You...you mean... you and Blanche....you know?"

Heyes nodded.

"When?  And where?"

"When you and Michelle were down by the creek that night before we came back to the states, Blanche asked me to take a walk with her.  We found a nice secluded spot and....well, let's just say she sure did give a fella something to remember before she sent him off to face twenty years."

Kid shook his head rapidly back and forth for a moment, bewildered that he never knew.  "But this time it's different?"

"Yep, real different. I just want to do what ever it takes to make her happy and keep her safe.  Kinda the way I've always felt about you.  Well, except I never wanted to kiss you."

"Well, that's a relief."  Kid's blue eyes also sparkled with relief that his friend was starting to sound like his old self again.   "Yeah,  I've always known this day would come.   I just always figured it would be me first."

"Me too."

"What are we gonna do with her Heyes?  She does have family we can contact, right?"

"Yeah, she said she has relatives in Nashville, where her mother was from.  But I don't think she wants to get word to them.  She says she's never met them and she's afraid they won't want to have anything to do with her."

"Now that's not real likely, Heyes."

"I know. That's what I told her."

"We'll have to get word to them, you know that don't ya?"

"Yeah.  But let's not tell her.  That way if they don't send any word back she'll never know the difference."

"And if they don't send word back,  what do we do then?"

"I don't rightly know."

"Well, I'll think on it for a while.  Maybe I'll come up with something by morning."

An annoyed look crossed Heyes face.  "I do the thinkin', 'member."

Kid Curry stretched out lazily beside the fire.  A slight grin crossed his lips as he lowered his hat over his eyes for a nap.  "Glad to hear it, Heyes.  Glad to hear it."