Love's Last Gift ~ Chapter 3

Life-In-Love

Not in thy body is thy life at all

But in this lady’s lips and hands and eyes;

Through these she yields the life that vivifies

What else were sorrow’s servant and death’s thrall.

Look on thyself without her, and recall

The waste remembrance and forlorn surmise

That lived but in a dead-drawn breath of sighs

O’er vanished hours and hours eventual.

Even so much life hath the poor tress of hair

Which, stored apart, is all love hath to show

For heart-beats and for fire-heats long ago;

Even so much life endures unknown, even where,

‘Mid change the changeless night environeth,

Lies all that golden hair undimmed in death.

 ~*~*~*~

The streets of Cheyenne, Wyoming had changed a lot since the last time Heyes and Curry had ridden in them.    Cheyenne had been one of their favorite towns to frequent when they had first started out in the business.  Heyes remembered having a grand old time at the Big Horn saloon after robbing the bank near Fort Collins in Colorado.   He and Kid and the rest of the gang had ridden in to Cheyenne like they had owned the place.   And with the young, cocky attitude they displayed, no one had reason to doubt that they did.   But that had been before they had solidified their reputations and had earned the ten thousand dollar price tags on their heads.   After they had been arrested and lodged in the Cheyenne jail a few times,  they started to avoid the city.   And when their wanted status was upgraded to dead or alive,  they had tried to avoid crossing through the territory of Wyoming altogether whenever possible.  But now they didn't have to worry about being recognized or arrested.  They could walk in and order a beer like any other man.   Like a pair of Texas rangers.

The Long Horn Saloon still stood where it always had.  Several newer, fancier saloons has sprung up around town, but the boys doubted if they had the same atmosphere that their old haunt had.    The same old sign still hung across the top of the building's front, only the paint was faded and weathered.

"Wonder if old Gus is still keeping the bar?"  Kid asked as they stood on the street in front of the saloon looking up at the weather beaten sign.
 
"Only one way to find out,"   Heyes said as he went in with confidence.   They stood and took in the sights and sounds of the old familiar place.   Heyes closed his eyes for a moment enjoying the sound of glassing tinkling, cards shuffling,   poker chips chinking and a player piano twanging softly in the background.     He inhaled the scent of beer and whiskey,  cigars and sweat.   Yep,  nothing here had changed.   The familiar, yet older face of Gus Nelson frowned in confusion at the two smiling men who approached his bar with such confidence,  not because he didn't recognize the two men, but because he hadn't seen their faces in years and they were supposed to be in prison.  The confused look on Gus's face slowly transformed into a  smile as the two former outlaws sauntered casually up to his bar.

"I ain't read about no prison breaks in the papers.   So either you gents is lost or things in your lives have changed drastically."

"Hello, Gus.   We're not lost and we didn't bust out.   If you can believe this, we got pardoned,"  Heyes said with a broad smile.   "We just got released yesterday."

The older man's face lit up at the news.  He reached across the bar to slap both boys on the shoulder.   "That calls for a celebration.  Anything you want, on the house."

He poured Kid a beer and Heyes a shot of whiskey.   "Pardoned.  Well, I'll be hanged.  How long has it been anyway?  Six years?   Kid you were still just a snot nosed,"  he struggled to find a better word, but failed, "......kid, the last time I saw you two.   And you,"  he looked into Heyes brown eyes,  "you were just starting to lead the gang.   I must say, you boys did me proud.   I kept up with you boys and every time you pulled a job it would be in the papers and each job got a little bigger.   When I read about you blowing that safe in Denver,  the one that everybody said couldn't be blown,  I was so proud I framed the newspaper and hung it on the wall.  It's still there."   He pointed to the wall behind the far left end of the bar.  "We still talk about it to this day.  You boys know that I didn't take no offense when you stopped coming through here once you made the title of most wanted men in the west."

"Wasn't no offfense meant, Gus,"  Kid said as he swigged his beer.   "We had to steer clear of these parts once Sheriff Lawler had it in for us.  Is he still sheriff by the way?"

"Nope.   He retired and his son took over.   But don't worry.  I don't think he'll recognize the two of you."

"Well, even if he does,"   Heyes patted his breast pocket, "I've got official papers signed by the governor himself declaring us free men."

"That's wonderful, boys,  just wonderful.  Wonder why it wasn't in the papers about you two being pardoned?"

The boys swapped glances.  "We're not too sure about that ourselves.  But the warden assured us that it's all on the up and up.   And speaking of newspapers,  is there a copy of today's issue lying around anywhere?"

Gus handed Heyes  the latest issue of The Cheyenne Daily Sun from behind the bar.  "Hey, Gus,"  Kid said with a laugh, "remember that time Heyes pulled the old five pat hands trick on that city slicker from New York."

Gus let out a hearty laugh.  "Yep, some of the old timers still talk about it to this day, too.  That slicker never did figure out that he'd been had.   But he sure did know that he was a hundred dollars poorer."

Before long the whole saloon knew that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry were in town,  and that they were free men.   After reminiscing for another hour, the boys found themselves winning big at poker for the next three.  They weren't sure if they really won because of their skill or if the other players let them win when they found out they were Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes.

Later in their room at the Dyer Hotel,  Kid slept soundly while Heyes didn't sleep at all.  Instead he spent an hour sitting in bed combing through every word of the newspaper by the dim  lamplight.  But nothing seemed to be of any significance  where he and Kid were concerned.   Starting tomorrow, he was going to do some digging.   He was going to ask around and see if anyone had seen anyone matching Evie and Livvy's descriptions.  They were here in Cheyenne somewhere.  He could just feel it.

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

She awoke to a beautiful rays of sunshine filling her gloomy room.  The French doors leading to the balcony were open letting in the sunlight and the fresh spring air.  She raised her groggy head to look out upon the clear blue skies and heard the singing of birds nesting in the trees.   What a beautiful day to start her miserable existence she would now call her life.

Waking up the morning  after her wedding night  should have found her feeling elated and bubbly. Instead she felt deflated and flat.   Martha had roused her far too early.  She had not fallen asleep until late and now she just wanted to keep sleeping.

Evie groaned and threw her arm across her eyes to shield them from the brutal light.   "Remind me again, Martha, why I should even get out of this bed today."

"Because you've signed your soul away to that sorry excuse for a man who will be expecting you to be at the festivities tonight playing the part of the blissful newlywed.   And you know what will happen if you welch on your end of that bargain."

Evie sighed a heavy sigh, threw back the cover and sat on the edge of the huge four poster bed.  She didn't need anyone to actually remind her of why.   The reality of her life and her situation was with her constantly.   She woke with it, ate every meal with it, laid down with it at night and slept with it.

"Which one do you choose, my lovely,"    Martha asked, holding up two gowns for her to choose from.   She didn't answer.   Martha laid the two gowns on the bed beside her.   "Perhaps you would like your aunt's opinion.   But if you want it you must be gettin' it soon, for she will be leaving for home shortly."

Evie's head snapped up.  She had forgotten that her aunt would be leaving today to go back home to Heavenly Hills.  Libby had been left alone for far too long and the family businesses needed her attention.   Evie longed to go with her.  Almost as much as she longed for her beloved.   In fact she and Livvy would have already been home had this opportunity not fallen into her lap so suddenly.

She rose from her bed and went to stand against the balcony railing and gazed towards the west.  What she really longed for was to find her beloved ex-outlaw and take him back home with her.  But she knew what would happen if she did.  He would be hunted again.  And this time for a crime he didn't commit.  The governor had made it clear that if she didn't live up to her end of the deal, then the boys would be wanted for crimes far worse that robbery.   "Be safe, my love.   And know that everything I've done,  I've done for you,"  she said aloud before placing another kiss on the silver ring she wore around her neck.   It would never come off.  Until her dying day she would wear it.  If she could not place it on her finger then she would wear it around her neck.   Only when she was cold and dead would it be removed.

"I'm partial to the blue one, you know."   Livvy's voice brought a brief smile to her face.   She turned to find her petite blonde aunt admiring the deep blue silk gown that lay across Evie's bed.

"I'll wear the blue one then.  Not that it matters.   I don't care how I look or what I wear or what I say or how I act.   I don't want to even go downstairs for this dinner party.  And tomorrow night will be even worse.   He's expecting dozens of people for a garden party.  He expects me to dance and play the piano and play yard games.  And all while I'm smiling and acting so very in love with his son.   Thank goodness they are all strangers who don't know me well.  I'm afraid anyone who knows me well would see right through me."

"I'm afraid he will expect you to be on your most convincing behavior.   A woman who was truly in love with her husband would want to look her best for company.   How unfortunate that there is no capital building in Cheyenne.  All of the governor's offices are here in the mansion and all of his soiree's are here as well.   I'm afraid there's no avoiding it, dear.  You have to play the part.  Otherwise I fear for two former outlaws."

"I know.   I'll be the devoted little wife when I'm in public, but can't I be discontented and grumpy in the privacy of my own room?"

Livvy held her arms open and Evie stepped into the embrace of her most trusted friend and ally.    "Of course you can be grumpy all you want with Martha and me, but try to behave yourself around others.   You know we can't afford to mess this up.   If things go wrong,  we could loose everything."

"I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders."

"In a way it is.  Our world, anyway.   But you are a Sanders woman.   You have been through tougher times than this and done far braver things.   I have no doubt that you can do this as well.  We Sanders women are tough as nails."

Evie smiled, feeling a little more light hearted.   "When do you leave?"

"On the two o'clock train.   I've already packed and one of the governor's carriages will take me to the depot.   Martha and James will stay here with you.   I would never leave you here alone.    And I want you to know that I will come back as soon as I can if you need me.   I can be here in two days if I have to be."

"Can't you stay just a little longer?   How am I going to do this by myself?  How will I survive without you?"

"You will survive because you have to.   Look at all you've been through in the past year and a half.   Compared to all of that, this should be a walk through the park.   You have a strength that most women will never possess.  A strength that can even make those people tonight believe that you spent a glorious night in the arms of your new husband."

Evie groaned in disgust.  "Please don't say things like that.  It puts images in my head that I do not want there."

"Sorry, dear, but you have to make the public believe that you are in love with that young man.  No matter how you really feel.  That is part of the bargain.  Don't ever forget why you are doing this."

"I won't forget,"  she said soberly, looking again to the west.

"I certainly wouldn't leave at all if I didn't have to get back to Nashville.    This whole thing just fell into our laps all of a sudden and I hadn't made arrangements to be away for this long.   I should have been home days ago."

"I know.   I'm sorry.  But I couldn't pass up this opportunity to get them out of that wretched place.   No matter what the cost."

"Don't be sorry.   I know I scolded you quite harshly about it, but I would have done the same thing had I been in your shoes."

"Speaking of shoes, I need you to help me decide on which pair to wear tonight and tomorrow night.   And I need you to help me with my hair before  you go.   Do you mind?"

"Of course I don't mind.   Let's have a good breakfast then you can bathe and we will spend the rest of the time getting you ready for the governor's dinner party."

"Livvy?"  Evie approached the subject carefully.  "Do you ever think about that day in Rock Springs?  The day we left them there?   Do you think if we had stayed there, they wouldn't have been arrested?"

Livvy was silent for a few moments.  "Yes, I think about it every day.  I wish now that we had all gone back to Rawlins and found a minister or a justice of the peace when we couldn't find either in Rock Springs.   And the two of you would be married now and everything would be different."   Evie could see the regret in her aunt's eyes.  "But there's no sense dwelling on what cannot be changed."   She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say more, but quickly closed it again.  "I'll go see about breakfast,"  she said in an almost inaudible voice.
 
Livvy left her alone on the balcony and went in search of the servants to tell them to bring breakfast.   Evie knew it made Livvy uncomfortable to talk about the day they had left Rock Springs.  When Livvy and Kid had arrived on the train that cold winter day in January of 1881, Evie and Heyes were waiting for them at the hotel.  They had inquired about a minister and found that the only minister in town also pastored two other churches in neighboring communities and he wouldn't be back for two weeks.  And there was no justice of the peace at the moment, because the man who had held that position had died of pneumonia just days before.   That's when Livvy had insisted that they wait long enough for her to plan a big wedding with music, a cake and a fancy gown for Evie.   They reluctantly said yes to waiting.  It was the biggest regret of her life.   She and Livvy had boarded a train the next day for Nashville.   The boys were to meet with Lom Trevors and let him know of Heyes' plans to marry Evie.    Then the boys were going to join them in Nashville.   But they never made it.   Evie had a telegraph from  Heyes waiting for her the day she arrived in Nashville, letting her know that he and Kid were leaving Rock Springs to head to Porterville to meet Lom.  It was the last she ever heard from him.   He was arrested apparently leaving the telegrapher's office.  And she knew that Livvy carried a tremendous amount of guilt about the whole thing.  She felt it was her fault for insisting that they wait.  That's why she rarely brought up the subject.  It was as painful for her to think about as it was for Evie.
Since the boys' incarceration, she had come to rely heavily on her aunt and she had grown closer to her than she had ever imagined.  She felt closer to her than she had to her own mother.   She didn't want Livvy to leave.  Even though Martha would still be here, she still felt like Daniel being left in the lion's den.

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

"What are you doing up so early?"   a sleepy Kid Curry grunted from under the covers of his soft warm bed.

"I want to get down to the corner and see it they've got today's paper for sale yet,"   Heyes told his half asleep friend while he pulled on his boots.   "You can go back to sleep.   I'll be back as soon as I buy a paper."

Kid's answer was a loud and long snore.   Heyes just chuckled deep in his throat and shoved his hat on his head and headed down stairs and into the bustling streets of downtown Cheyenne.

He found a young man selling today's edition a couple of streets down from the hotel.   He  couldn't wait to get back up to his room and start combing through the pages to find some clue about Evie's whereabouts.   He handed the boy a nickel for the paper and was headed back across the street when a sign from down the street caught his eye.  He went to have a closer look.   It was a new place that hadn't been here when he and Kid used to frequent the town.   It was a restaurant and it appeared to be quite popular, considering the amount of people going in and out.   He would treat Kid to a big breakfast.   It felt good to be able to think about simple things again.  Things like what to have for breakfast or which shirt to wear.   He hadn't had to make a decision in so long he thought maybe he had forgotten how.   But he was wrong.   He decided right there that he was going to have steak and eggs.   And maybe a piece of pie.  The painted window sign of Fannie's Place said "Home of the Best Pie in the West."  But first he had to go through this paper.  Because he had also made another decision.  Come hell or high water, he was going to see Evie soon and he was going to get some answers.
 
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Heyes,  I mean it.  You ask me if I'm awake one more time I'm gonna brain ya!"

"But, Kid, I don't want you to miss breakfast.  It's getting late.   And there's a new place in town that I'm sure you will like."

One blue eye popped open.  "What kind of place?"

"It's a restaurant.  It's called Fannie's Place and there were lots of people there so it must be good."
The blue eye closed.

"And the sign on the window said it was home of the best pie in the west."

Two blue eyes popped open.  "Did you say pie?"

"Yep, pie."

"What kind of pie?"

"I don't know.  We'll have to go over and find out."

Kid threw the covers off and sat on the edge of the bed.   "I'm only getting up because of the pie.  I hope you know that."

A pleased smile crossed Heyes face as he watched his friend rise and walk slowly to the wash basin.   He knew the pie would to the trick.   Heyes sat down leisurely on his bed and picked up the paper that he'd laid there when he'd come in.   He read the front page.  Nothing exciting.   Just news about new bills the recently elected President Garfield was going to introduce to Congress, testimony from local trials,  advertisements from local businesses.  He flipped to page two.   More of the same, advertisements and death announcements.   He didn't recognize any of the names in any of the stories.   Was Martha sending him on a wild goose chase or was there going to be something in tomorrow's paper?

"Anything in today's paper?"  Kid asked as he surveyed his reflection in the mirror.   "You know,  I think I'll grow that mustache back again.  I looked pretty good in it.  And besides, when a man is stripped of his right to have one, it kind of feels good to grow one just because you can.   Know what I mean?"

No reply.

"Heyes?   You know what I mean?"    He turned and found his partner staring intently, searching the pages of the paper.

"What?"  Heyes asked without looking up.   "Oh, yeah,  I didn't shave this morning either,"  he said absentmindedly rubbing his day old beard.  "Kid there ain't a thing in here that looks like it would have anything to do with us or Evie."

Kid crossed the room and took the paper from Heyes.  "Nothing at all?    Well, maybe tomorrow's paper will tell us something.   Want me to go over this one just in case  you missed something?"

"You can if you want, but I don't think I missed anything."    He laid back on the bed.

"I'll give it a once over when we get to Fannie's."  Kid grabbed his hat and headed for the door.  "You coming?"

"I just knew there would be something in that paper today.  You don't think that Martha woman was leading us in the wrong direction do you?"

"Well,  I...."

"No, she was definitely trying to help us.  But then again,  she could be trying to get us to focus on the papers so we don't check on anything else, like the hotels and boarding houses."

"Yeah, I guess......"

"No, no,  I've got a really good feeling about her.  I got the feeling she was genuine.  She really wants to help us and Evie.  She's in some sort of  trouble and she's going to get hurt.  Don't you think?"

"Are you gonna let me answer this time?"

"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want an answer, Kid."

Kid just rolled his blue eyes.  "I think she was definitely trying to lead us in the right direction and she definitely wants us to keep checking the papers.  Don't get  like you get Heyes just because there wasn't anything in today's paper.   Maybe tomorrow there will be."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Now, can we go eat?"

"Let's go,"  Heyes said as he rose to his feet.  "I just hope we don't get the same reaction we got when we went into Minnie's Cafe in Laramie."

Fannie herself met them at the door when they walked in.    "Aw, no,"   Kid mumbled under his breath,  "here we go again."

"Hello, boys,"   the robust middle aged blonde greeted them.   "I was hoping you two would be coming to see me."

The boys looked at each other, confused, yet pleasantly surprised.  They removed their hats revealing their stubbled heads.  "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but do we know you?"   Heyes asked, expecting to get an invitation to the door when she saw their bare heads.

"No, but I sure do know who you are.   Why everybody in town is just hoping to get a look at the notorious Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry,  now pardoned, free men."

"Boy, word sure travels fast. So you don't mind if we sit here in your establishment and eat?"   Kid asked, surprised.

"Mind?   Why, my business will probably triple once everybody hears you've been in here.  And if you like the food,  I sure would appreciate it if you recommended the place to others,"  she shamelessly solicited.    She showed them to a nearby table and told them what she had to offer and the boys ordered their food.

"Say, ma'am,"  asked Kid, "why didn't you throw us out like the folks in Laramie did?"

"Folks in Laramie don't take kindly to newly released prisoners.  They figure they're all no good and going to cause havoc in their town.  So folks there don't encourage former inmates to linger very long.   But you won't find that here in this town, boys,"  she said with a wink as she trotted off to the kitchen.

"Well, Heyes, I think we found ourselves a home."  Kid said with blue eyes sparkling.

Heyes just smiled at his friend, but he didn't say anything.   He didn't know what to say.  Home seemed like a foreign word to him.  Like something from another language.   Without his Evie,  home did not exist in his vocabulary.  

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

Evie stood with Martha on the top step of the columned front porch of the governor's mansion and waved goodbye to her aunt.     She hated to see her go.   She wanted to run after the carriage and beg her not to go.   She wanted to beg her aunt to purchase a home somewhere in Cheyenne and move Libby here so both her aunts would be close to her.     She took a deep breath and looked heavenward.   Dear, Lord, what have I gotten myself into?    Just help me remember why I'm doing this.

"Don't fret, lovey.   We'll see them again soon.  And in the meantime I'll be here and I won't let anything happen to you.    And James is here as well.   He's been a faithful employee to the Sanders family almost as long as I."

"How can I do this, Martha?   How can I stand in front of all those people tonight and tomorrow and pretend to be in love with a man I hardly know?   And what I do know of him, I don't even like."

"Remember that tale you told me about going into that saloon and winning all that money at the poker table pretending to be Miss Savannah from Savannah?   Well, this is the same thing.  You just pretend to be someone else for a while.  Only this time you're not playing for money.  You're playing to keep the man you love out from behind those prison walls and to protect your family's future.  And I have a feeling that if you bide your time all things will fall into place and you won't have to keep up this grand charade."

"What sort of feeling?  Do you know something you're not telling me?"

"No.  I just have an intuition that's all.   When people are driven either by great love or by great hate, then they can make it through most anything and nothing seems to last as long as it really does."

"I suppose,"    Evie said as she watched Livvy's carriage exit through the tall iron gates at the front of the property.   Great love for Hannibal Heyes is what had driven her to  enter into a loveless marriage with a man she hardly knew.    She just hoped it wasn't great hate that would drive her to leave this place, rendering the agreement null and void.

Martha watched the young woman she loved like her own retreat back inside the house.   She would keep to herself the fact that she had practically told Mr. Heyes were he could find her and to be looking in the papers so he could read the news of her marriage.  If he had done as she expected him to,   tomorrow night was going to be quite an evening.

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



"GOVERNOR'S SON WEDS WIDOWED CONCERT PIANIST"

That was the headline Kid Curry read on the front page of the evening edition of The Cheyenne Daily Sun.    Heyes had been disappointed this morning when there was nothing in the paper to give them a clue as to the girl's whereabouts.   They hadn't known that the Sun printed an evening edition.    Heyes was in his room now, sulking and pouting.   Kid hated it when he pouted.   He was worse than a spoiled child.    But what he hated even worse was an angry Heyes.   A pouty Heyes he could deal with.  He didn't like it but he could deal with him.   But an angry Heyes, nobody could deal with.   And after he read these headlines,  Heyes was definitely going to be angry.   Kid had left the room an hour ago to have another slice of Fannie's cherry pie.   Actually he had two, but that was his and Fannie's secret.     He'd heard the boy yelling for everyone to "read all about it."   So, Kid had bought a paper with the intentions of taking it back to the hotel so Heyes could spend the evening pouring over each page.    But the bold headline had caught his eye and he stood there stunned after reading it.  He dreaded giving this to his partner.

He hadn't read the article that followed but the only possible explanation was that Evie had married the governor's son.   How was he going to tell Heyes?    He would be crushed and then angry.   Maybe he should have another piece of pie and think on it.

"Hey, Kid!   What you got there?"

Kid turned to see his partner coming up the street from the hotel.   His first instinct was to hide the paper behind his back.  But it was too late, he'd already seen it.   Besides that,   Heyes would just buy a copy of his own if he refused to show it to him.  Maybe he could soften the blow by warning him.

"Evening edtion.  Heyes, before you read this.....well.....you're not gonna like it.   So, please, don't get how you get."    Heyes snatched the paper out of Kid's hands and read the front page headline.   Kid waited for a tantrum or an explosion of anger.   Nothing.

"So?"  Heyes asked with a shrug.  "You wanna go over to Fannie's and grab some more of that pie?"  Heyes asked as he handed the paper back to Kid.

"Heyes?   Didn't you just read the headlines?"

"Yeah.  So?   What does that have to do with us?"

"It's Evie.  It has to be.   She's agreed to marry the governor's son to set us free."

Heyes laughed a little as he shook his head.  "No, Kid.   You're wrong.  Not my Evie.  She wouldn't do that to me.  There's no way she would marry another man.    And besides that,  Evie's no concert pianist.   She plays piano real good, but she doesn't give concerts.   Now let's go have some more of that pie."

Heyes headed across the street to Fannie's.   Kid stared after him for a moment.   That was not the reaction he had expected.    Maybe Heyes was right.   Maybe their pardon and the fact that the governor's son just got married were unrelated.   Or maybe Heyes was just having a severe case of denial.    Kid followed after Heyes when a bill posted to the community board next to Fannie's place caught his eye.   He stopped Heyes with a hand to his shoulder and pointed in the direction of the bill.    They walked silently to the billboard and read the colorful printed flyer that was partially covered by newer bills.  Kid ripped some of them away so they could read the entire bill.
 
"In Concert - one night only at the Dyer Hotel -   Acclaimed Pianist,  Evangeline Smith - Saturday,  April 7 at  8:00 P.M."

"Didn't you say she was calling herself Mrs. Smith?    Heyes,  I know you don't want to believe it, but it has to be her.   It's Evie.  She's married that guy so we could be pardoned.  She was here playing a concert two weeks ago."

Heyes didn't speak.    He didn't know if he could speak.   Every emotion that a human being could feel,  seemed to surface inside of him at one time.    He didn't want to believe it.   She wouldn't do that to him.  Would she?   Not even to gain his freedom.   But what other explanation was there.   He grabbed the newspaper from Kid's hand and stormed into Fannie's and sat in the closest chair.   He began reading the article about the governor's son's wedding.   It had taken place yesterday at the governor's mansion.    It was a small private ceremony in which Mrs.  Joshua Smith, widow,  became Mrs. Clayton Ramsey III.    The two met two weeks ago when Mrs. Smith gave a concert in the Dyer Hotel in downtown Cheyenne.  The article went on to explain that the new Mrs.  Ramsey hailed from Nashville and had studied music at the Boston Conservatory.   And that was as far as Heyes could read.   He didn't need to read any more.   He had his answer.   She had married another man.  The article never mentioned the bride's first name, so there still remained that small splinter of hope that pierced his soul, that perhaps it wasn't her and all these things were mere coincidences.  But deep down he knew.

"Heyes?   You alright?"   Kid asked quietly as he sat next to his friend.

Heyes stared blankly at the table top in front of him.   He felt like he was going insane.   Two days ago he was pulling hard labor in the territorial prison, with little hope of getting out of those prison walls alive.  And now he was sitting in a restaurant a free man trying to make sense of what he had just read in the newspaper.   His hopes and his dreams, everything that had kept him alive in that prison, had just been smashed against the cold, hard rocks of reality.  The woman he loved was now married to someone else.

Why hadn't he married her when he had had the chance.   When they had arrived in Rock Springs on that snowy evening over a year ago,  there had been no minister in town,   no justice of the peace and no one with the legal ability to make them man and wife.   So he and Evie had reluctantly given in to Livvy's pleas, and decided to wait.   Livvy's intentions had been good.  She just wanted her only niece to get married in a church with a beautiful wedding gown and a big cake afterwards.  She just needed a few weeks to get things arranged and to contact their old friend Preacher to perform the ceremony.   He was the only minister of the gospel who could marry them using Heyes real name.  Regret.  What a terrible word, he thought.  And what an even worse feeling.     No, he wasn't alright.     "Don't I look alright?"   was all he could manage to say.

Before Kid could tell his partner that he looked worse than he ever remembered seeing him,  two finely dressed ladies carrying hatboxes and packages entered the front door beside them, chattering loudly about their morning excursions of shopping.   Kid stood and removed his hat and offered to assist the ladies with their packages.   Most of the time it was Heyes who had to remind Kid to stand when a lady entered the room, but this time Kid had to give Heyes a nudge to get him to stand and help him relieve the ladies of their burdens.

"Good morning, folks,"   Fannie greeted as she approached her awaiting guests.  "My, you ladies must have bought out the whole town,"   Fannie noted as she led the ladies to an empty table, the gentleman following with their packages.   "Shopping for a new gown for the big soiree, I suppose."

"Oh, yes, Fannie.  Violet and I are  so excited.   Papa said we could buy whatever we wanted and money was no object.  Isn't that right, Daisy?"

"Yes, sister dear, that is correct.  Papa is always grateful for us to have an opportunity to find suitable husbands.   And Lord only knows that suitable suitors are few and far between around here.   Papa always says that only the best will do for his girls."

Heyes and Kid shared a private, knowing look.   There was no shortage of men around here.  There was just a shortage of men who would want to court either of these two unfortunate looking young ladies.   Heyes set his arm load of packages next to the one called Violet.   She was well over six feet tall and so skinny a  hard breeze would have blown her over.  She turned hazel eyes towards him and smiled, revealing bucked teeth with a wide gap in the middle.

Kid deposited the stack of hat boxes in the chair next to Daisy.   She too smiled charmingly at Kid.   Her eyes disappeared into tiny slits in her chubby, round face.   A face that was covered with a sprinkling of fine dark hair.  The hair grew darker near her mouth and nose,  giving her the appearance of having a slight goatee.   "Thank you, gentlemen,"   Daisy said, extending her pudgy hand.

Kid took her hand and shook it gently and quickly dropped it.  "My pleasure, ma'am,"   he said as he backed away and he and Heyes turned to go back to their table.

"I suppose you girls are heading up to the governor's mansion tomorrow night for the garden party,"  Fannie said.

The boys stopped in their tracks.

"That's right.   It's a private invitation only gathering.   We have to look our best if we want to  rub elbows with the governor and his  new daughter-in-law.   We hear she is ravishingly beautiful,"   Violet giggled, her large hooked nose wrinkling.

The boys both pivoted on their heels and returned to the ladies' table.

"How rude of us not to introduce ourselves.   I'm Joshua Smith and this is Thaddeus Jones.  Is it our understanding that you ladies are without escorts for tomorrow evening's get together at the governor's mansion?"

Violet batted her eyes coyly up at the handsome cowboy,  "As a matter of fact we are without escorts."

"But that's only because it was such short notice.   Otherwise we would have had no problem finding an escort,"   Daisy quickly added.

"Oh, I'm sure you would have, ma'am,"   Kid said.   "But seeing as how you two ladies have bought pretty new dresses and me and my partner here just happen to be free tomorrow evening,  would you allow us to do the honor of being your escorts?"

Both ladies giggled and blushed.   "We would be thrilled to have you for escorts, Thaddeus,"    said Daisy with her hand shyly over her mouth.

"What time should we come calling?"    Kid asked.

"The party starts at seven,"  said Violet.

Kid smiled at his partner, "Well, Cinderella, we got twenty four hours to get you ready for the ball."











 

A New Beginning

So, I've decided to self publish, "Evangeline" under the title "Thief of My Heart"  through Amazon.   But in order to do that I have to change all the names that were associated with the tv show to prevent copyright infringement.   And therefore I can't use the show's intro that I used on Wattpad to introduce the boys to the audience.   And since the readers will have no idea who our two favorite outlaws are or how they got to where they are at the beginning of the story,  I had to write a new chapter to include at the beginning.    Here is that chapter.   Please give me feedback.  This is so important because the first few paragraphs will usually be the deciding factor for most people if they are going to continue to read or not.   I also need the boys characters to be established.   So please let me know how I did and if I need to change anything, add anything or take anything out.   And I apologize that I'm on my way out the door for work and I don't have time to separate the paragraphs and make corrections to spelling and all.   I'll try to do it later.   I trust you can make sense of it all until I get to it.  Thanks again.

Peace. Out. ~ Karen :')

p.s. have a blessed and dimply day


August 1879

He had known it would be a challenge,  getting her to open up.  But just because she looked prettier and fancier than all the others before her, didn't mean she wouldn't  succumb to his masterful touch.   Just like all the hundreds who had fallen victim to his skills before her,  she would be the next notch on his bedpost.  Only he had not anticipated it taking this long.  He sat back on his heels and looked up at her with complete and total adoration.  She was gorgeous.  He almost hated to touch  her and spoil the perfection of her untouched beauty.  Sweat formed on his brow as he leaned in and pressed his ear closer to the cold steel door of the brand new safe.    The First National Bank of Aspen had only recently purchased this masterpiece of ingenuity and he was determined to get inside of her.  And if anybody could do it, it was Hannibal Blain.   He had been cracking safes since he was a teenager.  By the time he was twenty he had mastered the art.   He didn't know how he did it.  It was just a gift he'd been born with he supposed.   He'd tried to teach others how to listen as each tumbler fell into place when he discovered the correct number of the combination.  But none had been able to do it.   By the time he was twenty-three, and the newest and youngest leader ever of the Hell's Hollow Gang,  it had become so easy it had almost bored him.  And now at age twenty-eight, he was the only man that he knew of in this country who could crack a safe without blowing it.  The older models,  sure he had no trouble with those, but the big banks and the best railroads were all investing in bigger and better safes that were becoming more and more difficult to crack.  And this beauty was proving to be his biggest challenge yet.  And he loved a challenge.   Safes were a lot like women.   When one was particularly difficult to crack you had to be a little more patient,  listen a little more carefully and handle a little more gently.    Eventually they all opened up for him....the women and the safes.

Well, at least up until lately.  In the last six months, the three biggest safe companies in the country had produced new models that had proven to be his Achilles heel.  The last two he had tried to crack he had finally given up and blown with nitro.  This Davis and Cooper model 7 it appeared was going to be no exception. He had heard rumors that  the D & C number 7 was going to be the one safe that no criminal could get into.   He had heard they had made the mechanisms inside so quite and smooth that it was impossible to manipulate the combination.  He was hoping to prove those rumors wrong.  But he had been sitting here in front of this safe for five hours.  And still he couldn't pinpoint all the numbers of the combination.   He sighed in frustration as he tried the handle one more time and found it still locked tight.

"Blain,  we got about thirty more minutes before the sun comes up.   If you've got any rabbits in that genius's hat of yours, you best be pulling them out.   Dewey and the rest of the gang already headed back to the hollow."   Blain's younger cousin whispered from across the room where he stood watch at the banks front window.  Ben Coulter watched the street outside with his shiny Colt .45 ready in his hand.    On the other side of the room his life long friend and partner continued to romance the safe at this side. Coulter was twenty-six years old but he looked sixteen.  That's why everybody called him Kid.  Kid Coulter wasn't a genius when it came to cracking safes, but there wasn't a man this side of the Mississippi who could best him with a gun.  He could do with a Colt .45 what Blain could do with a safe.  He had been carrying a gun strapped to his right leg since he was fifteen and he swore he limped slightly if he wasn't wearing it.   His reputation for quick drawing his gun had meant having to prove his ability more than once   But he was so fast that none of his adversaries had even gotten their guns out of their holsters before the Kid was pointing his barrel dead center of their chest.  But he never pulled the trigger.   He and Blain both shared the belief that it was wrong to kill.  That's one reason he wanted to be the best with his gun,  so he didn't have to kill.  Of course there was the one time when he had pulled the trigger, but he had only shot the man in his shooting arm, rendering it useless for the rest of his life.   Warren Boggs had stalked Kid Coulter for months, baiting him, trying his best to pick a fight.  But Kid had known what the older gunslinger was up to.  He was out to proof that he was the better gunfighter but he wanted Kid to be the one to start the fight.   And Blain had always been there,  the voice of reason, talking him out of taking it into the street.   Until that one day, at Myrtle's Dance Hall when Boggs had gone too far.   One thing Kid Coulter could not tolerate was a man mistreating one of his friends or  a woman.  But when you mistreated one of his friends who also happened to be a woman, well that was just asking for trouble.

Kid looked at Blain who still had not gotten inside the safe.  He knew that he and his partner were both going to be asking for big trouble if they didn't leave this bank and start heading out of town in the next ten minutes.

Blain looked up at the safe from his cross legged position on the floor  with pleading brown eyes, "Come on, sweetheart.  There will never be another tonight and you will never have hands as skilled as these on you again.  So let's make it all worthwhile. You know what I need."   He closed his eyes and pressed an intent ear to the safe door.   A look that resembled ecstasy crossed his face as he heard what he thought was the last number falling into place.   With a confidence that only a genius who had honed his craft can have, he wrapped his hand around the handle and ....... it didn't budge.

"That's it,  Blain.  We've got to go.  None of the boys are here to watch our backs now and the sun's starting to come up.   If we don't leave now, some body's going to spot us when we leave."  

"Alright, Kid.  I'm coming."  He didn't want to leave.  And it wasn't just because of the hundred thousand dollars he knew was waiting inside of her.   It had now become a matter of pride.   If he failed to open her, word would get out and the name Hannibal Blain wouldn't strike fear and awe into the hearts of lesser criminals and the general public.  He and Kid hadn't earned the title of the west's most wanted men by failing to get to the booty.  They hadn't earned a ten thousand dollar price on each of their heads by leaving the scene of the crime empty handed.  To tell the truth both Blain and Coulter were sort of proud to be known as the most wanted men west of the Mississippi.   The only thing they didn't like was the three words that followed the word "wanted"  on every poster bearing their names.  Those three words,  "dead or alive."

They had never really figured out why their bounty was now payable dead or alive.  They had never killed anyone.  None of the boys in the gang had killed anyone while they were riding with Blain and Coulter.   Blain had made it very clear when he became the leader of the gang that innocent people would not be harmed just to make a few dollars.  But when you made a few too many bucks the illegal way,  the banks and railroads you took it from were willing to pay to see you dead.  And now Blain and the Kid had to be extra cautious.   If they were recognized by the wrong person they could be shot down for the price on their heads.  

The twilight sky was barely holding back the eminent break of  dawn,  as Blain and Kid mounted their horses.  "Well,  if you can't crack her, Blain,  I don't reckon she can be cracked.  At least the boys got out with that five hundred dollars that was in that old safe they were still using inside the bank."

"Just don't sound quite as impressive as one hundred thousand though does it?"

"Now, Blain, don't get down on yourself.   You know we heard them rumors that them new D & C number 7's were going to be almost impossible to crack.  Even for a genius like you.  Maybe it's time we faced it.  Times are changing and it's getting harder to get into these safes.  Even the ones on the railroads are taking more dynamite to blow.  Maybe we should think about retiring to South America."

"Retiring?  On what?   Until we make one big score, Kid, we can forget it.  After we split the money with the rest of the gang there's never enough for us to get across the border, let alone all the way down to South America."

"Well, there is that other option we talked about."   Kid took the folded newspaper clipping from his breast pocket.   "You remember what it said don't you?   That the governor of Wyoming is willing to grant pardons to men 'not yet versed in hard crime.'  Everybody knows we ain't never killed anybody.  And with all them dime novels and police magazine stories about us, we're pretty popular with the public.  I think we should try to get a pardon, Blain.  Think about it.   If we was pardoned we could go anywhere we wanted without having to worry about who might recognize us or whether or not there was a bounty hunter on our tails.   And we might even be able to have a real relationship with a woman for a change.  Not just taking a few hours from one of the girls at the local brothel.  Don't you ever think about it?  Don't you ever wish we could just be normal people who work for a living and go home to a loving family every night?"

"Kid,  you know having a normal life like that is not in the cards for us.  Never has been and never will be.  Even if I did want that kind of life,  didn't you hear what you just said.  'Not versed in hard crime?'   Well, I think having robbed more trains and banks than I can even remember  over the last fifteen years is going to be considered hard crime.   Besides that,  what do you want us to do?   Walk right up to the governor's office at the capitol and ask for it?   We can't do that.   We'd be locked up before we got the first words out of our mouths."

Kid's boyish face fell with disappointment.  "Yep, I guess you're right.  But it was nice to think about anyway."

The boys turned their mounts to head down the alley that would lead them to the street behind the bank and out of town.   They had sat and talked for too long.  The first golden rays of dawn were piercing the darkness of twilight.   It made Blain uncomfortable.   He liked having the cloak of darkness covering them until they got far from town.   They passed the livery stables and the owner was out front opening his business for the day.   The mercantile owner was just opening his doors.   And two women with eggs to sell in their baskets were heading for the local cafe.   They were getting some awfully suspicious glances that Blain and Kid did not like.

Blain leaned closer to his partner, "Maybe we better split up and meet somewhere outside of town.  People will be less suspicious of us if we're not together."  He glanced around and caught sight of several more townsfolk.

"No, Blain.  You know something bad always happens when we split up."

"Come on, Kid.  It will just be for the few minutes it will take us to get out of town."

"Alright, but I don't like it.   I'll meet you in fifteen minutes by that grove of apple trees just outside of town."

Blain  turned his horse and headed down a side street.   Hopefully none of the townsfolk who saw them would be suspicious enough to alert the law.  And surely none of them would notice the iron bars that had been spread apart with a mechanical bar spreader on the banks window.  Not much further and they would be home free.  They would be out of town,   and he and Kid would join back up and they would head back to the hollow.   Hopefully, Dewey and the rest of the boys.....he never finished that thought as a bullet whizzed past his left ear.   He whipped the flanks of this horse with the reins and bent low over the horses neck as it shot forward.  He could hear voices yelling in the distance and then more shots from behind him whizzed past his head.    He could hear more gunfire from the other side of the buildings to his right.   They were shooting at Kid too.

He emerged from behind the last building and looked behind to see Kid close behind, also at a full out gallop.   They rode as hard and as fast as they could, but when he looked back again, there was a six man posse on their tails.   They could outrun them.   They had outrun dozens of posses before.  They would do it again.

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

One week later,    Hardyville, Wyoming

"Help you?  Why, I should be arresting the both of you right now,"   Sheriff Lennie Jaggers exclaimed as he scowled at the two outlaws he had once called friends.

"Now, Lennie,  you know me and the Kid always thought a lot of you.  We didn't even hold a grudge when you left the gang to become a lawman,"    Blain said with a dimpled smile as he perched himself on the corner of Lennie's big wooden desk.

"Yeah, and we never pulled a single job in this town or this county since you become sheriff of Hardyville,"    Kid added.    "We didn't want bring any trouble to your doorstep."

"So, will you help us or not?   We don't exactly have many friends who are in your line of business, Len.   Who better to go to the governor and tell him that we've turned over a new leaf and want a pardon so that we can have normal law abiding lives like everybody else."

"I can't do it.   He'd laugh me right out of his office.   He was offerering pardons to pick pockets and chicken thieves.  Not to the two men responsible for two thirds of the money that's been stolen in the western half of the country in the last five years."

"So, we're overachievers.  Does that mean we don't  deserve a chance at a new life like other folks?  We never hurt anybody in any of those robberies.   Me and the Kid don't believe in killing people.   You know that."
  
The boys exchanged looks.  They knew their old friend was going to be a hard sell.   It was time for Hannibal Blain to whip out his silvery tongue and let it work its magic.

"But if you can't help us right now, we understand, Len.  Really we do.  We can't blame you for not wanting to get mixed up in our little dreams.   I mean you've been lucky enough to get out of the business and get a fine upstanding job,  a nice home,  pretty wife.   I can see why you wouldn't give two cents if me and the Kid get stuck in a way of life that has no hope of a future.  Well, unless you count prison as a future."    Blain slapped his partner's shoulder and headed for the door.  "Or a pine box,"   he turned to add quickly.   "Come on, Kid.   I'll treat you to a beer.  Then we can take that long lonely ride back to Hell's Hollow where we'll bunk down by ourselves after eating a cold leftover meal from whatever Dewey and the rest of the boys made for supper.   We've been doing it for years,  what's one more night of it?"

"If we don't get arrested or shot before we get there," Kid said with a sigh in his voice and his head hanging slightly.

"Wait, boys."

Blain and Kid  shared a triumphant smile before turning again to face their  old friend.

"I know you boys stayed out of Hardyville to protect my reputation.  I appreciate that.  And I know that you two boys are good hearted men who just didn't have the same luck as most folks do when they're kids.   That's how you got into the business in the first place,  losing your folks like you did.  So, I'll talk to the governor for you."

Blain and Kid couldn't keep the boyish grins from their faces.  Blain offered his hand to Lennie.  "Thanks, Len.   I told Kid you'd help us,"   Blain said as he vigorously pumped the fist of the other man up and down.

"I wasn't finished, boys.   I'll talk to the governor on one condition."

The boys' smiles disappeared.   "What condition?"   Kid asked.

"On the condition that the two of you swear right here in this office that you'll leave the gang and Hell's Hollow immediately and you'll stop committing crimes.    I want the two of you to find honest work and stay at it.    When I talk to the governor I want to be able to show him that you two have turned over a new leaf and that you're sincere about wanting to stay clean.  Even then there's no guarantee that he'll grant you the pardon."

"You think he's gonna want us to prove we can stay straight?"  Kid asked with a gulp.

"I think that's exactly what he's going to want.   So it's best if you start now and prove to me and to the governor that you can live nice clean, law abiding lives.  You can do it boys, I know you can."

They boys both laughed nervously.  They hadn't held a real job since they were teenagers. They didn't know if they were cut out for it.

"And if you can stay clean for a year or two,  I'm sure the governor will grant you boys that pardon."

"A year or two!"   both boys exclaimed in unison.

"And what do we do in the meantime?   Will we still be wanted?"   Kid asked,  getting a little upset.

"I'm afraid so, boys.  But if you keep your noses clean, you won't run into any trouble."

"What if somebody recognizes us?"   Blain asked.   "No body's going to care if we're trying to go straight.  All they're going to care about is the ten thousand on each of ours heads."

"If it's worth having, fellas, it's worth working for.   You'll be free men if the governor agrees to pardon you.  And freedom doesn't come free."

The boys held a silent conversation as they held each other's gaze.   It was either accept the terms or start planning their next heist and stay caught in the same vicious cycle they so desperately wanted to escape.

Kid gave a brief quick nod, letting his partner know they were in agreement.   Blain took a deep breath.   "Alright, Lennie.   For one year,  you've got us.  We'll stay on the straight and and narrow and proof to you that we're not just blowing smoke up your ass.   This is something we want.  And we're willing to do what it takes to make it happen."

"That's good boys.  I know you can do this. After all, you're both better men than you give yourselves credit for.    You won't regret..."

The door to the sheriff's office swung open and a small, frail looking  man came in leaning heavily on a cane.   "Lennie, I thought we were supposed to meet for supper fifteen minutes ago.   What in the sam hill is keeping you?   Oh, pardon me,  I didn't know you had business to attend to."

"Oh, no, Mayor, I was just finishing up here.  I'm on my way right now.  Boys,  we'll finish this business tomorrow."

"I can wait while you finish up, Lennie.  Are you gentlemen new in town?   I don't recall seeing you before."

"Ah, these are just some old friends who stopped by to say hello."

"A friend of the sheriff's is a friend of mine.   Pleased to meet you,   ah,  Mr......"    the mayor extended his hand, waiting for an introduction.

Blain shook his hand and blurted the first thing that came to his mind,  "Smith."   He inwardly groaned and rolled his eyes slightly at his own lack of imagination.  Surely the Kid would do better.

The mayor looked expectantly at the Kid waiting for him to introduce himself.    "Uh, Jones,"   he said weakly as he shook the mayor's hand.  Blain closed his eyes and shifted his lower jaw in frustration.
  
"Pleased to meet you, Smith, Jones.   Now are we all going to stand here or are we going to supper?"

"Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones have to be going,  mayor.   They only stopped in to....."

"Nonsense!   A friend of yours is a friend of mine, Lennie.   Supper's on me, boys.   And no talk of having to rush off.    That's the trouble with this country these days.   You young folks are always in a hurry to be going somewhere.  The way you youngen's run around you'd think Kid Coulter and Hannibal Blain were on your tails."  

The mayor broke into a bout laughter that seemed unusually robust for such a small man.    The other three men in the room looked at each other nervously before joining the mayor in with half hearted laughter.

Lennie looked at the boys with warning in his eyes.   "What are you waiting for,boys.   Let's go to supper."  His invitation was a little less than cordial.

"Well, Kid.  Looks like this will be our first test to see if we can live among those on the right side of the law,"   Blain whispered to his partner as they followed the mayor and Lennie into the streets of Hardyville.

"What if we can't do it, Blain?"    Kid whispered.   "What if we slip up and call each other our real names?"

"We'll just have to work at it.   And we better be coming up with fake first names too."

"How about something from the good book.    That'll be easy to remember."

Blain thought for a moment.  "Matthew.   That's gonna be your alias from now on.  Matthew Jones."

"Oh?   You get to decide my name?"  Kid asked, a little miffed.

"Well, you're the one who couldn't do any better than 'Jones.'     You doin' the thinking has got us into trouble more than once.   I am the brains in this operation after all."

"So sorry I didn't live up to your expectations there, Mr. Smith.  Alright.  Fine.  I'll be Matthew.  Let's hurry up,  Levi.  I'm hungry."

"What'd you call me?"

"Levi.  That's your new name.  Levi Smith.   Thank goodness for the Sunday school lessons back at the orphan's home, huh?"

Blain just shook his head.   He wanted to pick his own alias.   But he couldn't very well argue the fact with his partner right here in the middle of the street with the sheriff and the mayor within ear shot.   But then again,   he hadn't  got to pick his name when he was born.    So it only made it more believable to have an alias that he hadn't picked either.   Levi Smith.  He listened to the sound of it in his head.  He wasn't sure he like it.  Thank goodness he had time to pick something else before they sat down to supper with the mayor.
  
The mayor turned to yell back to the two lagging outlaws,  "You two better get a move on.   If Lennie gets there first, there won't be any food left."

Kid ran ahead of Blain, not liking the thought of being cheated out of a free meal,  even if it meant eating with a lawman and a mayor.   "I'm right behind you,  mayor,"  Kid called out.

"I never got your first name, Mr. Jones."

"Matthew.   Matthew Jones."

"Pleasure,  Matt.   I'm Mayor John Hardy."

"And that there is my friend,  Levi Smith,"   Kid said with a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.   He knew Blain didn't want someone else picking his name.  He only smiled when he clearly read "I'll get you back, later"  in his partner's deep brown eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you too,  Levi.  You two sound like nice, clean cut American boys.   I do hope you'll will consider staying on here in town permanently.   We could use more trustworthy young folk around here."

Blain had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud.   Trustworthy young folk, huh?   If he only knew, he thought.   There would have been no supper invitation if they had introduced themselves as Hannibal Blain and Ben Coulter.  Strange what having a different name could do.   But it didn't change who they really were.   And unless the governor came through with this pardon,  they were destined to live a cold and lonely existence, moving from town to town, job to job, using assumed names.  They'd never know the comfort of the word "home" or the warmth of being in the bosom of family.   Those were the things that normal, law abiding people did.  Not two outlaws who were trying to go straight.   And certainly not two outlaws named Hannibal Blain and Kid Coulter.   As he watched his younger cousin help the old mayor up the steps onto the boardwalk in front of the cafe,  he wondered if they were doing the right thing.    Once word got out that they'd retired from the business,  there would be no going back.   They would have to see this pardon thing through to the end.   That meant keeping their noses clean while dodging the law and bounty hunters for a year or maybe longer.  And there wouldn't be any impenetrable fortress like Hell's Hollow to hide in and no gang to watch their backs.  They would be on their own.    It was going to be a hard year.  But like Lennie had said,  "If it's worth having, it's worth working for."  

Lennie was waiting at the door when he stepped up on the boardwalk.   "You two couldn't do any better than Smith and Jones?"    he grumbled under his breath.

"Sorry, Len.   We were kinda on the spot."
 
"I guess you're stuck with those names now.   From today on,  Hannibal Blain and Kid Coulter don't exist.  You're both just hard working American men.  Peace loving, law abiding men.  You're now aka Smith and Jones."

Lennie went inside, leaving Blain outside by himself.   Hard working?  Peace loving?  Law abiding?  He closed his eyes and sighed.   Yep, this was going to be a hard year.

Too much work!!!

I've decided it's too much work to try and keep up two blog pages.  So I'll be posting chapters 1 and 2 of "Love's Last Gift"  here.   And all the remaining chapters will be here as well.   I hope it doesn't confuse anyone.   So if you've bookmarked the other blog page, you can unmark it, because I won't be posting there anymore.  

I'm almost done with chapter 3.   Having to make a few changes to keep in line with the changes I've made to chapter 4.    Until then,  another great video......

A Dream Come True for me!!

I woke up this morning and checked my emails and then went to my facebook profile to see what was happening.   I had twenty notifications, one message and one friend request.  I checked the notifications,  nothing spectacular there.  Then I clicked the friend request.   Much to my surprise it was  a friend request from  Beth Griswold Shaffer.   In case there are any of you who don't know who she is, she was engaged to Peter Deuel at one time in her life.  So I freaked out a little and I thought, "What if the message is from her too?"   So I clicked it and sure enough she had sent me a message.   She has read my story on Wattpad and she loved it.  She said she could hear Peter's voice in every scene and that it brought back some wonderful memories for her.  I admit it, I cried.  I can't believe that a woman who knew Peter, touched him, loved him, made love with him,  read what I wrote and took the time to send me a message and ask me to be her friend.  I feel so blessed right now.  Thanks, Beth.

And as always,  thank you, Peter.  Love you.  :')