Chapter 28

Whew!  This one took a lot out of me.  I'm spent.  Don't know why this one was so difficult to write.  But anyway I hope you all like it.


"I can't believe we were so stupid.   We knew better, Heyes.  You never leave without being prepared.  That was always one of the most important things we taught all the greenhorns who came into the hole.   And now here we sit.  Freezing our tails off.  Hiding out in a barn in the middle of nowhere.  No food, no coats.  And you don't even have your gloves."  Kid Curry kicked the bail of hay that sat at his feet, releasing some of his anger and frustration.

Heyes just sat there on another  bale of hay with his arms crossed over his chest, his hands tucked under his arms to warm them.  He said nothing.  He just stared at the dirt floor while Kid paced back and forth in front of him.

"How did we end up like this?  Where did we go wrong?  I'll tell you where.   We got too comfortable.  We let our guard down.   We forgot that we're both wanted men.  How stupid can we be to just ride out of that ranch without so much as an extra blanket or something to eat? Family men, huh?  We don't look much like family men now."  The object of his frustration this time was an empty wooden pail which he sent flying across the barn with the tip of his boot.  It landed with a loud clatter after banging against a stall door on the opposite side of the barn.

"Will you stop it?"  Heyes admonished.  "You keep doing stuff like that and you'll get these animals riled up and somebody in that farmhouse will be out here to see what's going on and then we'll really be in hot water."

"I wish we had some hot water.  Some hot anything."  A shiver wracked his solid frame.
"And ain't nobody gonna hear anything over that blasted wind."

As if to punctuate his statement, a blast of frigid wind blew in through the cracks between the board walls of the barn, causing loose bits of hay and straw to skitter across the barn's hard packed dirt floor.
 
"Why don't you just relax and sit down for a while.  Or better yet, why don't you lie down on that pile of hay over there and get some sleep.  I'll keep a watch out."

"I can't sleep.  I'm too cold.  And too hungry."

Heyes ignored Kid, who continued to pace and grumble under his breath.  He for one was just thankful they were out of that blasted wind for a while.  Before they had stumbled across this barn, his fingers had become so numb from the cold that he could barely hold the reins.  His fingers were beginning to feel normal again after being shoved in his armpits for the last hour.  He removed his hands from under the warmth of his arms and as he did his hand brushed across the hard little square in the breast pocket of his navy blue shirt.  He reached inside and pulled the tiny box out.  He held it in his hand for a moment before lifting the lid and staring at the simple silver circle that lay inside.

"Will you put that away.  I don't ever want to see that thing again.  It reminds of how stupid I am."
Heyes just gave his partner a puzzled look.  What was he talking about?

"I was stupid to ever let this whole thing get this far.  I knew you weren't thinking straight.  I should have sent her back east.  All my instincts told me to just put her on a train to Nashville.  You were too loopy headed with love to make any rational decisions.  I should have just took control of the whole situation and done what I knew was best for all of us.   But no.  I didn't do that did I."   Kid paused his pacing and ranting for a moment. Heyes wasn't sure if he was talking to him or to himself.  "I almost wish somebody else had saved her. None of this would be happening if it weren't for...."

Heyes stood quickly and pointed a finger at his cross partner,  "Don't you dare blame her, Kid.  This is not her fault."  There was warning in his tone.

Kid came and stood directly in front of Heyes and swatted his accusing finger out of the way.  "I'm not blaming her.  I'm blaming you,"  he spat out angrily as he stabbed his finger into Heyes' chest.  "None of this would be happening if you would have just done what you knew was right in the first place.  We've always had that one unspoken rule when it comes to women, Heyes. You enjoy them while you can and when it's time to move on,  you move on.  Even if it means breaking their heart.  It's not right to let a woman get emotionally tangled up and then have to up and leave. And you and I both know that eventually we always have to leave.  I should have followed my gut and made you send her back east.  She'd be living with Livvy now and you and me would have been hell and away from Cold Springs and Sherman McMaster.  Sure she would have been heart broken.  But she'd be getting over it by now."

Heyes didn't say anything.  The truth of what Kid was saying was like a festering barb under his skin.  He just stood there scowling at his partner as he continued his rant.

Kid walked away from Heyes and began his pacing again.  "Stupid, stupid, stupid."  He shook his head in dismay.   "I can't believe I let you get so caught up in playing house for so long."

"I wasn't playing, Kid,"  Heyes said in an almost inaudible voice.


"Well, you may as well have been for all the good it did you.  And I was right there with you.  Playing right along."   He paused again, thinking about Livvy.  Visualizing her lovely, petite figure, her sweet laughing face, her passionate eyes.  "And now you've gone and....dammit, Heyes, I hope you didn't make her pregnant."


"Alright, Kid, I get it.  You're mad.  And you think this is all my fault.."

"I don't think it is, I know it is!"

"Alright!  It's all my fault!  Are you happy!   I take full responsiblity for everything!"  Heyes turned away from Kid, not wanting to look him in the eye, his shame and guilt making him feel like a scolded child.

No,  Kid wasn't happy.  And he immediately felt sorry for being so hard on his partner. He could only imagine how hard this must be on him.  He softened some and said in a calmer voice,   "Well, Heyes, you should have done right by her and just sent her away even if it meant breaking her heart."

"You think I don't know that?"   Heyes said facing his partner.

Kid could see the pain in Heyes' face and could hear it in his voice.  He opened his mouth to say something.

Heyes waved his friend off.   "Just forget it."

"Yeah. There's nothing we can do to change the past now.  Let's just concentrate of getting some rest while we can.  We need to be riding out of here before those folks in that house wake up.  It's going to be a long hard ride."   Kid dropped down onto a pile of straw in a dark corner and covered himself with a dusty old saddle blanket they'd found hanging over one of the rafters.  "Wake me in a couple of hours and we'll trade places."   He yawned loudly and closed his eyes.  He was snoring in minutes.

"So much for being too cold and too hungry,"  Heyes mumbled under his breath.  Heyes knew Kid must be exhausted.  He was exhausted himself, but he didn't require as much sleep as Kid did.  They had managed to get a couple of hours of sleep last night when they'd come up on a line shack that cowboys used for rests on cattle drives.  But the wind had been so fierce, making the temperature feel much colder than it actually was, that they hadn't rested well.  They had awakened to a bright and very welcome sun which warmed the air throughout the day.  They had ridden as hard and as far as they could before the cold once again became unbearable and the winds began to pick up with the sinking sun.  They were giving up hope of finding any shelter for the night when they'd smelled the burning wood from a fireplace chimney. The little farm sat in the middle of nowhere somewhere near Alamogordo, New Mexico.  Isolated and remote, it had been like a beacon of light in an otherwise dark and bleak situation.  They had silently made their way across the yard and into the barn after watching the owner and his small son secure the animals inside for the night and then disappear behind the walls of their cozy little farm house with its warm glowing windows.  But even if he had been behind those walls in the warm glow of a family fire he couldn't have slept.  He had too many things on his mind.

Heyes wandered aimlessly around the barn.  His mind was in a turmoil.  He stopped beside the lantern they'd found hanging by the barn door and stared into the glow of it's dim light as he held his hands close to its flame for warmth.  Kid was right.  He was right about everything.  He should have sent Evie away.  He should never have professed his love for her.  He should never have allowed her to grow so dependent on him.  And he certainly never should have touched her.  He should have been thinking with his brain instead of his heart.  And his....he looked down at the bulge below his gun belt and rolled his chocolate colored eyes.  She was so young and so innocent.  And he had spoiled her.  And what if he had made her pregnant?  What if his child grew in her belly at this moment?   He had been the worst kind of irresponsible.  He'd been stupid and selfish and irresponsible.  And now if he ended up in the Wyoming State Penitentiary or worse,  if he ended up dead, she'd be left alone.  Heartbroken and alone.  Possibly with a child on the way.  His child.  She would be the one to pay for his foolish mistake.  And so would their child if there was one.

His child would be branded a bastard.  The bastard son or daughter of a wanted outlaw.  And Evie would be shunned as a harlot.  My God what had he done?  Why hadn't he left her alone?   Falling in love with her was something he couldn't help.  But taking her virginity, that he could have stopped.  Of course in the moment it hadn't  felt like he could stop, but that wasn't true.  He had had every opportunity to back out.  To save her innocence.  And he hadn't stopped there.  Oh, no, he had to go to her room that night didn't he.  He rolled his brown eyes again, wishing he hadn't thought about that night.  It only made him more lonely for her.  Made him long to touch her.   And now there was  a possibility that she could be  carrying his child.  The thought of it filled him with indescribable joy and at the same time, petrifying fear.

He wouldn't deny he had pictured her, her belly large and round, ripe with the fruit of his loins.  But he'd also pictured her with a ring on her finger at the same time.  Now their future was unclear.  He doubted if marriage was in the cards now.  Had it ever really been in the cards for him?  Kid was right, he had known better.
 
Heyes left the glow of the lantern to wander again.  Moving kept his mind off the cold.  He found himself at the front of the barn near the door, where they'd tethered their horses.  He approached the massive black stallion and smiled when the steed caught his scent and turned his big head towards him and began to paw the ground.  "Yeah, I knew you were beginning to like me.  No matter how big of a fuss you try to make about it."

Heyes had been astounded by the black's speed when they had headed out of Cold Springs.  Once Odin had hit the wide open fields and had sniffed the clean air he'd taken off like a....well, like a wild horse.  Heyes grinned to himself.  If he'd been alone he could have been miles further by now.  Kid's bay gelding just wasn't a match for Odin's speed and agility.

Heyes rubbed the thick black coat that covered the straining muscles beneath it.  He couldn't see it in the dim light but he could feel that the normally slick shiny coat was dull and dirty and in bad need of a good curry combing.  Just like the day they'd wrangled him and brought him home.  Home.  It had felt so good to be able to say that word.  For a while at least.  He should have know it was all too good to be true.  He thought this time might be different.  That maybe God wasn't still making him and Jed pay for the sins of their past.  But obviously he was wrong.  He felt a longing begin in his heart and his chest tightened.  He wished he could be on the back of this powerful beast with Evie.  Holding her, kissing her, laughing with her.   Just being normal.  Just being home.   And home was simply where ever she was. But once again the reality of who and what he was had reared its ugly head to smack down any dreams he had of having a normal life and a home and a family.  He could picture it in his mind.  A little white washed clap board house with a porch sitting on a nice little grassy spot of land. Evie standing in the front yard waving to him as he came home from an honest day's work.  The sun shining brightly down on her lovely face, tanned and freckled from working in the little garden at the back of the house.  Her beautiful hair flying free on a breeze.   And two little children running to meet him.  A boy and a girl.  One with blue eyes and one with brown.

Another sharp gust of wind rattled the boards of the barn walls and jarred him from his reverie.    He wondered what Evie was doing right now.  Since it was the middle of the night, she was probably sleeping, or at least trying to sleep.   Had she gone looking for him in Cold Springs?  He hoped she hadn't.  He didn't want her and Laura to cross paths.  And he certainly didn't want any one becoming suspicious of her connection to him and the Kid.  But he knew her better than that.  Of course she had gone looking for him.  Did she find out what had happened?  Did she know he hadn't abandoned her?   Had she cried?  Had she waited and watched?  And what about Livvy?  Had she found out the truth?  If she had then Evie was probably on a train bound for Nashville right now.  But he couldn't blame Livvy.  Who in their right mind would want their niece married or even associated with an outlaw?  Even if he had been the most successful outlaw in his time.  Heyes smiled smugly.  If Olivia Vanderbilt wanted her niece to marry a successful man, then he was the perfect candidate.  The fact that his success had been found on the wrong side of the law was a mere formality.   But his smile quickly vanished as he thought of the look that would cover Livvy's pale face when she learned who he and Thaddeus really were.  She would be angry.  She would be hurt.  And she would make Evie leave with her.  He knew that as sure as he knew that the hat on his head was black.  And Evie, not knowing what the future was going to bring would have no choice but to go with her.  And once Livvy had her in Nashville,  even if he and Kid managed to escape the long arm of the law once again,  he'd never be able to contact her.  Livvy would make sure of it.

He wished now he had ridden off with her that day before Livvy came.  Evie had begged him to pack their things and ride out.  Just the two of them.  But he wouldn't do it.  Now he wished he had.  But that too was water under the bridge and not worth dwelling on.  All he needed to think about now was getting to the one place where they could get lost and not be found for a while.  The one place where they could wait the posse and Sherman McMaster out.

"You've got to get us there, friend,"  he addressed the black.  "Get us there so I can get back to her.  I've got to get back to her somehow.  So I can make things right."   There was one small window in the back wall of the barn.  He left the horses and made his way to the window.

He stood beneath it and looked up into the brilliant sky.  It was a clear night.  The stars were more vivid and bright than he'd ever seen.  And the moon was three quarters full.  The longing began again as he wondered if his Evie were looking at the same moon and stars at that moment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The moon and the stars were brilliant and beautiful.  If only she were looking at them with her beloved.   Evangeline sat by the window of her bedroom in the McCreedy ranch house,  gazing skyward.  But neither her eyes nor her mind really focused on anything.  Where was he right now?  Was he cold and hungry?  Was he hurt and afraid?  Her heart ached to think of him needing help and her being helpless to do anything.  She had never felt so utterly alone.  Even though Aunt Livvy, Mr. McCreedy, Georgia and Preacher all sat in the parlor downstairs, she still felt completely alone.

She and Preacher had agreed upon the story they would make up to tell Olivia and made their plans to help the boys as they rode home from Cold Springs.  When they had arrived as the sun was going down this evening, Livvy had run to meet them.  Evie had seen her hopeful face fall as she realized it was only the painted pony that followed them and not two shamed and hungover cowboys.   She had masked her disappointment well.

 Once she'd gotten inside Evie had asked Georgia to help her draw a hot bath.  It would probably be the last one she would get for quite a while if she and the Preacher put their plans into place as they had discussed.  With absolutely no appetite and a mind filled with checklists of things she would need for her journey, she had sat at the dining room table and listened while Livvy had lectured her all through supper about never trusting any man except your father and praising the good Lord that she had seen Joshua's true colors before it was too late.  Evie had simply listened without response while she pushed her food, uneaten,  about her plate.  When everyone else had retired to the parlor for coffee, Evie had asked to be excused, claiming a headache.

Once in her room she had packed a set of saddle bags with anything she thought she might need and hid it inside the back of her wardrobe.  She sat now looking out the window, wondering if Hannibal were doing the same.  Did she have the courage to do what she was about to do?  Did she really have the strength to see this thing through?  God, please give me the strength and the courage.  They don't deserve to be hunted down and shot like dogs.  They're good men and you know that.  So please help me help them.


A knock sounded at the door.  "Come in,"  Evie called.

Livvy glided primly into the room and sat atop Evie's canopied bed.  She patted the spot beside her, indicating her desire for Evie to come and sit beside her.  Evie rose from her seat by the window and crossed the room silently to sit beside her petite aunt.

"My dear, dear girl,"  Livvy said as she took her niece's hands in hers, her voice laced with sympathy.  "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"About how you feel.  I know you must be unbearably heartbroken and you need to let it all out.  It's not good to keep your emotions all bottled up inside.  You haven't shed a single tear since you came home this evening, and yesterday, you were inconsolable.  I know if I had found out that the man I thought was going to be betrothed to had gotten drunk and then hightailed it out of town without so much as a goodbye or 'kiss my foot,' I'd be a blubbering lump that wouldn't get out of bed for days.  I know you're strong and I admire your courage, but, my dear if you need to cry then do so.  Let it out."

"I'm fine.  Really I am.  I just need to be alone right now.  If you don't mind."

"All right.  But first I must tell you that Pat and I talked today while you were gone to Cold Springs and we both decided it was best if you had a fresh clean start.  Something new to get your mind off of Joshua Smith."

Fear welled up inside of Evie.  They had decided?  She didn't like the sound of that.

"Pat went into town and purchased two stage tickets for El Paso.  We will pack tomorrow and leave the day after.  From El Paso there's a train east to Nashville.  We will be home at Heavenly Hills  by Friday."

Evie stood and walked to the window, looking again at the moon.  "I hope you have a pleasant journey."

"We will have a pleasant journey.  You are coming with me.  I hadn't told you but I've been corresponding with the dean of students at the Boston Conservatory.  He's assured me that you can begin there in the spring.  It's all been arranged and Mr. McCreedy agrees that it's best for you.  He's having all your things  here in your room packed and shipped out to Heavenly Hills."

Evie turned unbelieving eyes on her aunt,  "You mean he's kicking me out?"

"Of course not!  He's simply sending your things home.   Home with me where you belong.  You belong at Heavenly Hills with your aunt Libby and me."  Livvy could see the distress on her niece's face and went to her and took her by the shoulders.   "My dear, it's almost Christmas.  You'll love it at the Hills.  Cook will be making gingerbread cookies and pumpkin loaves.  We'll bring in boughs of cedar and holly to hang on the mantle.  There will be a beautiful wreath on the front door.  And the most magnificent tree we can find will be in the main room with lots of presents beneath.  I know you'll be happy there.  At least in time."

"It all sounds wonderful Livvy, but I can't go. Not to Heavenly Hills and not to the Conservatory.   And if Mr. McCreedy doesn't want me here then I'll go to a boarding house or a hotel and stay.  But I'm not leaving here. This is where I belong.  Wherever Joshua is, that's where I belong."

"Do you hear yourself?  Are you listening to what you are saying?  The man left you.  He jilted you.  He made you promises and he didn't keep them.  You are better off without him.  And you will be better off leaving this place.  So that everywhere you look you're not reminded  of him.  Of what you shared together."

"Is this lecture for me or for yourself?"

"This isn't about me at all, it's about you.  And what's best for you. I know I'm not your mother but you are not in an emotional state that's conducive to making good decisions.  Therefore, I'm putting my foot down.  You are going with me.  We leave Tuesday. Period."

"Livvy, you don't understand.  I can't leave."

"I understand better that you think I do.  I understand that you think if you wait here long enough he'll be back.  But you're foolish if you think he's going to come riding back in here with a dozen roses and a ring, begging your forgiveness."

"Like I said, you don't understand."

"Then help me understand.  Explain it to me."

Oh, how I wish I could, she thought.  But instead she stood there silent as the grave saying nothing.

"Just as I thought.  You know deep down in your heart there is no explanation except that he got scared and he ran out on you."

Evie huffed in exasperation, "You don't know everything, like you think you do, Olivia."

Again, Livvy grasped her niece firmly by the arms, "Look at me.  It is time for you to snap out of it.  There isn't going to be any fairy tale ending to this.  I know he was a big part... the biggest part of your life, but, darling,  he didn't love you enough or respect your feelings enough to even come to you and tell you in person that he'd changed his mind.  It's time to face reality.  Your prince charming turned out to be a toad."

Evie had had enough.  She wasn't going to continue to let her aunt berate the man she loved when she didn't even know the whole story.  She stood and walked back to the window. "That's enough, Livvy!   The reason I can't leave is because Joshua and Thaddeus need help.  They are both in trouble and they need help.  And I plan to give it to them."

"Trouble?  What kind of trouble?  And how can you help them?  Wait, let me guess, they were in jail when you got to Cold Springs weren't they?"

"No, Livvy, they weren't in jail."

"Did you catch Joshua in bed with some soiled dove?"

"No!  Just trust me that they are in trouble and they need help."

"If they are in trouble why haven't you said something before now?"

"There's a lot I can't tell you.  I wish I could but I can't."

Livvy walked calmly to the door of Evie's room.  She opened it and stood for a moment, thinking.   She turned and faced her niece her hand still on the door knob.  "Well, then, until you decide you can tell me,"  she produced a key out of her skirt pocket and held it up for Evie to see.  Realization sprang into Evie's mind and she raced towards the door just as Livvy slammed it shut and turned the key locking it tight.

Evie began to frantically pound on the door with her fists. "Olivia, open this door!  Don't you dare leave me locked in here!"

"Are you going to tell me the truth about what's going on?"  She heard Livvy ask from the other side of the heavy door.

"I can't tell you, Livvy.  You have to trust me."

"That's not good enough."

Dear God, what was she supposed to do?  She couldn't tell her the whole truth.  If Livvy found out that Joshua and Thaddeus were really Hannibal and Jed she'd be lucky if her aunt didn't force her to  spend the next twenty years in a tower like Rapunzel.  But she didn't have to tell her the whole truth.  Just enough of the truth to get that door unlocked or else her plans were going to be ruined.

"All right.  I'll tell you the truth.  Just, please, open the door."

Evie heard the key slide into the keyhole and the click as the lock turned.  Livvy stepped swiftly inside and spun around to lock the door once again from the inside then deposited the shiny gold key into her pocket.

"Well, I'm waiting.  Astound me with this glorious revelation of truth."

It was obvious Livvy didn't think she was being sincere.  She no doubt thought that Evangeline was merely  deluding herself and defending the actions of the man who had left her high and dry by inventing some tale that explained his absence.  Boy was she in for a big surprise.

"Do you remember the woman you rode with on the train, the one with all the children?"

"Mrs. Shepherd, yes, I remember her.  Why do you keep coming back to that woman?"

"If you'll just listen I'll explain."   Livvy sat on the edge of the bed as Evie paced and explained.  "She wasn't a stranger.  At least not to Joshua and Thaddeus.  They knew her, although they didn't recognize her at first.  She had been Joshua's first love when they were kids in the orphanage.  She saw him in the mercantile that day when we were shopping and she recognized Joshua.  I wasn't really ill that day.  I was pretending so we could get out of town fast.  Because Laura Shepherd knows who they really are."

She stopped then and turned cautiously to look at her aunt.  There was confusion on her face.

"What do you mean  'Who they really are?'"

"Their real names aren't Smith and Jones.  Those are aliases they use because they are wanted men.  Wanted by the law."

Livvy sat silent and still, her lovely arched brows drawn together in a frown of concentration.  Evie expected her to start another rant about never trusting a man and Joshua being a toad, but instead she just sat there silent, obviously stunned.

"Laura's husband was also in the same orphanage and he also recognized them yesterday when they brought the pony to him to be shod.  He informed the sheriff about them, but before he could arrest them they managed to get out of town.  Now they are on the run out in this cold weather without so much as a jacket.  That's why they need my help."

"Who are they?  What are their real names?"

"I'm not going to tell you that.  And what does it matter?"

"What does it matter?  Oh, well, call me silly but I do like to know a man's real name before I let him...."  she stopped herself before she got too personal.  "What are they wanted for?  What were their crimes?  They aren't murderers are they?"

"Of course not!  They just pulled a few robberies, that's all.  But they've mended their ways.  They haven't committed any crimes in almost a year."

"How do you know all of this if they rode out of town?  Who told you this?"

"Laura Shepherd.  She helped them get out of town.  She said they headed north."

"Why didn't they come here?  I don't understand.  If they would have come here, I would have paid any fines or bail that they may have incurred."

"The man who's after them was once a Texas Ranger and they made a fool of him so now he wants revenge.  I don't think they wanted to bring that kind of trouble here."

Olivia's head felt like it was going to explode.   In a few short moments her whole world had turned upside down.  Nothing was right anymore.  Nothing made sense anymore.  She stood and walked slowly towards the door.   She needed to lie down.  Then she stopped and spun around her skirts whirling about her feet.  Her face turned a ghostly white.

"Livvy are you all right?"

"Dear God.  No, it can't be."   Her eyes searched the floor as her brain gathered and processed the information.  "The baby.  The looks you all shared when I told you that baby's name.  The safes.  He knew all about every kind of safe that's ever been manufactured.  And the gun.  He draws faster than any man I've ever...."  Her eyes lifted to find those of her niece.  "Hannibal."  Evie looked away.  "You defended that baby's name and you defended the mother of the outlaw who shared that name.  You defended the mother of the man you love.  Hannibal Heyes."   Evie could not meet her gaze.  "You're in love with Hannibal Heyes."    She began to tremble and her voice shook slightly when she said,  "That means that I've been..." She felt faint. Her stomach lurched.  She reached for the bed post for support.  "With Kid Curry."

Evangeline remained silent.  She neither denied nor confirmed what Livvy had said.  But at this point she figured her silence was as good as confirmation.

"I saw it in the paper that Pat brought from Red Rock that there had been a Heyes and Curry sighting in Cold Springs.  I just didn't put two and two together.  They are worth ten thousand dollars each.  Dead or alive.   Someone identified them and now there is a manhunt in progress."

"Yes, there is.  That's why they need help."

"What do you think you can do?  I understand now why they didn't come back here."  Livvy shook her head in disbelief.  She just couldn't wrap her head around it.  "A few robberies, huh?  There won't be any bail for Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes.  They had the good sense to know that there's nothing any of us can do for them and so they rode in the opposite direction to spare us any trouble.  My, God, they'll be lucky to escape this alive to serve time in jail."

"Yes, I know.  That's why I have to help them."  She was desperate for Livvy to understand.

"Again I ask,  what exactly is it  you think your going to do?  Ride in with guns blazing and rescue them?"

"I don't know exactly.  I just know that they're out there alone and I can't just sit here and do nothing.  Not while they're being hunted by a man with a personal vendetta against them.  I can at the very least find them and give them a coat and some food.  And I can't believe that you aren't willing to do the same.  I know you care about Thaddeus."

"Of course, I care about him.  I care about them both.  But I'm not foolish enough to think I can make a difference in the outcome of this whole mess.  They've made their beds and now they will have to lie in them."

Evie said no more.  She could tell that her aunt was going to stand firm in her view that the boys were on their own.  A terrible silence hung in the room as each woman pondered the present predicament.  Evie was drawn back to the window, back to the moon.  The same moon her beloved stood under, somewhere.

Livvy turned slowly as if in a stupor and made her way to the door.  She unlocked it and turned around and stood in the door just like before, her hand still on the knob and faced her niece.  "I'm sorry, Evangeline, truly I am."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Livvy, because you see now that he didn't leave me because he doesn't love me, he..."  She whirled around at the sound of the door slamming shut again and the key turning the lock.

Oh, how stupid was she?  Why hadn't she left the room while she had the chance.  She ran to the door and began beating and begging again.  "Livvy, please.  I have to help them.  The man that's after them doesn't want to take them to jail he wants them dead."

Olivia felt terrible about locking Evangeline in her room.  She felt even worse that Thaddeus and Joshua, or should she say Kid and Hannibal, were running for their lives.  But Evangeline could not help them.  If she let her ride off in search of them she might end up being hurt or killed herself.  She was responsible for her niece now.  And she loved her dearly.  She had to protect her.   The boys were on their own.  "Be sure your sin will find you out.  That's what the Bible says.  And now that I know who they are and what their sins are,  I will not let you be the one to pay for them.  I'm doing this for your own good.  And if Joshua were here he would agree with me.  I'm sorry."   She felt nauseous.  She ran to her bedroom in search of the chamber pot.

"No!  Olivia!  Don't do this.  You don't understand.  He'll kill them!"  There was only silence from the other side of the door.  "Livvy!  Please!"   It was no good.  She was gone.

Evie ran to the window and threw it open.  She looked down at the ground below.  It was so far.  Too far to jump.  There was no way to climb down.  Now what was she going to do?

She rushed to her vanity table and found a hair comb and a letter opener.  Maybe she could pick the lock.

An hour later she threw the comb and letter opener across the room in frustration.  Why hadn't she let Hannibal teach her how to pick locks?  She looked at the clock over the fireplace mantel.  It was eleven o'clock.  She was supposed to meet Preacher in the stables in an hour.  He was to have all the supplies they needed ready and they would pack them all on the horses and head out for New Mexico.   She had to find a way out of this room.  The sheets!   She could tie the bed sheets and the curtains together to make a rope and rappel down the side of the house.  She yanked the curtains from the windows and pulled frantically at the pink coverlet of her bed to get to the sheets underneath.  She was knotting the corners together when she heard a familiar pecking sound at the window.  It was the same sound she'd heard the night Hannibal had thrown pebbles at her window so he could tell her he loved her after narrowly escaping the wrath of Georgia Moon and her broom.

She went quickly to the window and stuck her head out into the cold night air.  She smiled from ear to ear.  She almost laughed out loud.  There below her window in the back yard stood Preacher holding a ladder. He had his horse and  Rusty saddled and a pack mule loaded with supplies ready at his side. One thing her Daddy  and Hannibal Heyes had taught her,  never play all your cards at once.  She hadn't told Livvy about Preacher.  He had been her ace up the sleeve.

After silently signaling for him to give her a few moments, she rushed to her wardrobe and pulled out her hidden saddle bags.  She changed into her britches and bundled herself tight into Hannibal's coat and gloves.  Then she pulled on her black hooded cloak and climbed through the window.  They were going to make it.  They were going to get off the ranch without anyone seeing them.  She mounted Rusty's strong back.  Her heart hammered in her chest.  Just a short ride to the gate and they were home free.  "Hold it right there, you two."

Evie closed her eyes and inwardly groaned.  No, Georgia, please don't ruin this.  Her first thought was to dig her heels into Rusty's flanks and take off, but something in Georgia' voice told her to wait.   Big Mac's housekeeper stood on the back porch outside the kitchen door.   Evie walked Rusty up to the porch where Georgia stood holding a burlap sack.  She extended the sack to Evie.

"Here, this is some food that will keep good and long in case it takes you two a while to find them boys.  And there's some remedies and medicines in there too.  Case them boys needs any mendin'.  I done told the Preacher how to use 'em."

Evie's wide eyed stare moved between Georgia and the Preacher.  "How did you know?"

"Know what?  That them boys is really Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry?  I am the eyes and ears of this household.  Don't nothing go on here that I don't know about.  Just like I knowed that boy was in your room that night.  What I don't know is how he got around the corner of the house before I spotted him."

Evie was glad it was dark and her face was shielded by her hood, because her face was flaming with embarrassment.  "How did you know he was there?"

"Please."  She swatted the air dismissively.  "I could smell the cigar all over the room."

Evie could only smile at her as she took the sack and secured it to the saddle horn.  "Thank you, Georgia."

"Something else I know for sho,  that boy loves you.   And both of them boys is good.  No matter what they might of done in the past. They may not know it but they are.   And don't you worry none about Miss Livvy.  I'll take care of her.  Be careful.  The good Lord will be with you."

Georgia waved them goodbye then wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she watched them disappear around the corner of the ranch house.  She hoped and prayed they got to them boys before it was too late.

Once outside the gates, Evie exhaled the breath she had been holding.   Relief washed over her the further they rode from the ranch.   She looked over her shoulder several times, just to make sure no one was following.  There was only darkness and stillness all around.

"Just one question, Preacher."

"What's that?"

"How did you know Livvy had locked me in my room?"

"Thank Miss Georgia for that.   She is the eyes and ears of that household after all."

"And the ladder and the horses and mule?"

"One thing Hannibal Heyes taught me and all the boys who ever rode with him,  if plan A don't work,  always have a plan B."

She could see the flash of his white teeth in the dark as he smiled at her.   She smiled back, her heart swelling at the sound of her beloved's name.  The respect this man had for Hannibal and Kid was apparent.  She trusted him and was so thankful he was with her.  Without him she could never do  what she was about to do.  When she began to think about it, doubt threatened to overtake her.  Was she being foolish?  Did she really think she could ride for hundreds of miles on horseback to find him and help him?  But then she pictured that sweet face, smiling at her with his big dimples and chocolaty eyes and her heart squeezed tight with love.  Then she thought of him shivering in the cold.  Weak with hunger.  Looking over his shoulder as he ran for his life.  And she became angry.  She wouldn't doubt again.  She could do this.  She would do this.  Nothing would keep her from finding him.  They'd been through too much together to give up now.  She looked at her new partner, and without having to speak he understood, and they both spurred their mounts into a gallop, heading north towards New Mexico.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A hundred miles away, somewhere between Las Cruses and Alamogordo, New Mexico,  a pair of cold, steel gray eyes stared up at the three quarter moon that shone brightly down on the campsite.  He wasn't even going to worry about catching up to them.  He knew where they were headed.  In fact he kind of liked knowing that they would be out in this cold, looking over their shoulders,  waiting for a posse to appear over the next hill.  The longer the chase went on the better.  They'd be too tired to give him much of a fight when he did catch up to them.  They thought they were going to lose him again like before.  But little did they know that he'd been back to that abandoned town since.  And he knew the whole town like the back of his hand.  Every board of every dilapidated building he had committed to memory.  There wouldn't be any place for them to hide that he didn't know about.  Yes, he looked forward to the chase, but not nearly as much as he was looking forward to the capture.