That Face, That Beautiful Face

   Thanks, God. 

A Shout Out to Germany

This is a video to give a shout out to my awesome German readers.  They rank second only to my American readers in number of views on my blog.  It's a great song that fits our couple perfectly and it's by (who else for a shout out to Germany)  The Scorpions,  "You and I."

If your from Germany click the +1 button at the bottom.  

Chapter 16

This chapter contains an NC 17 moment.  If you are not 17 years old, don't read any further.  If you are over 17,  be warned that you might fall deeper in love with Hannibal Heyes if that's possible.   So proceed at your own risk.  And after this warning,  I expect this chapter to break a record for views on my blog.  I tried to be tasteful and sensual at the same time.  Let me know how I did.

Karen

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"How long you gonna wait before we go get breakfast?'

"I don't want to just leave. What if she wakes up while we're gone?"

"She's a big girl, Heyes, I'm sure she'll figure out where we are.  Or you could leave her a note if you want."

"Nah, you go ahead.  I want to be here if she wakes up.  I gotta hunch she ain't gonna be feeling too good."

"Ain't you hungry?"

"I'll go after you get back.  If she's still asleep.  And would you tell somebody to bring up some coffee.  She's gonna need it."

Kid just nodded.  He had his hand on the doorknob when he stopped.  "Heyes. we gotta make some decisions you know.  We need to be contacting her family.  Why don't I go on over to the telegraph office and send word to them right now.  We can tell them to forward any messages to Red Rock in care of Big Mac. "

Heyes said nothing.  He sat in the chair in front of the secretary, his hands clasped together, elbows on knees, staring at the floor.  He knew Kid was right.  Her family had to be notified.  But he knew it wasn't what she wanted.  And he wasn't sure it's what he wanted either.  But it was the only practical and sensible thing to do.

"Let's wait 'til we get to Red Rock."

Kid could see that his partner was torn.  Torn between doing what he knew was right for Evangeline and what he selfishly wanted.  "Alright, Heyes we'll wait until Red Rock.  But then we've got to get word to them."

"I know, I know.  Don't forget the coffee."

Once Kid was gone he went to sit by her bedside.  She had endured more  heartache in the last week than most people saw in a lifetime.  She deserved some peace and happiness for a change.  But he was afraid she wasn't going to be happy when she found out they were going to contact her family.  He would tell her tomorrow when she was feeling better.

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The sunlight coming through the windows was like daggers in her eyeballs.  Her head hurt, her body hurt, even her hair hurt.   Her mouth was so dry she had to peel her tongue from the roof of her mouth.  Why did she feel so horrible?

"Mornin'."

She rolled over slowly, and shielding her eyes against the blinding sun, looked up into a pair of bright shining blue eyes.  Thadd...no, Jed....no Kid.....oh whatever, she thought and flopped back over taking refuge from the sunlight under the quilt that topped her bed.

"Got you some coffee."

She just moaned.

"You better have some of this coffee.  It'll make you feel better.  Believe me I know.  I've had my share of hangovers in my day."

Another moan.

"Come on, now.  I told Heyes I'd get some of this down you if you woke up before he got back."

She poked her groggy head out from under the quilt and turned concerned eyes to Kid.  "Where is he?"

"He went to get breakfast.  I went earlier, and he stayed here waiting for you to wake up.  He finally gave up on you.  I told him I'd watch you.  And this time I wouldn't let you get out the door on me."

A confused look came over her face.  Then realization.  Then she covered her face with her hands.  "Oh,  Lord.  I went in a saloon last night didn't I?"

"Yep."

"And I punched some girl in the face, didn't I?"
"Yep."

Another moan.  "My mother would be horrified.  And my father would have throttled my behind.   You both probably think I'm the most troublesome, ninny headed person you've  ever had the misfortune of rescuing."

"Well, now I wouldn't go that far."

"Is he mad?"

"No,  he's just concerned that you walked into a place like that. Saloons are no place for a pretty young woman to be.  Especially one that can't hold her liquor.  Here, take the coffee."

She sat up slowly,  took the coffee and sipped it.  "Are you mad?"

"Me?  Nah.  I'm mad at myself for letting you get away from me.  But actually it's the best laugh I've had in a long time."

"Well, I hardly think that me getting drunk and assaulting someone is funny, Jed."

The strange expression that crossed his face didn't go unnoticed, even to her hungover eyes.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.  It's just that when you call me Jed it makes me think about being home with my folks and my sisters."

"Would you rather I called you Thaddeus all the time?"

"It really doesn't matter,  but Heyes is probably right.  It's probably best if you use our aliases.  That way you're not tempted to call us the wrong thing in front of the wrong people.  Especially if you plan on drinking very much wine."

"I don't think you have to worry about that.  I'm swearing off any kind of liquor.  This is only the second time in my life I've had it and both times it was disasterous."  She continued to sip her coffee which seemed to be easing her headache.   "It seems such a shame though not to be able to call you the names your parents gave you.  They are both such grand names.  Hannibal and Jedediah.  No wonder you're both on your way to becoming living legends with such legendary names."   She looked up from her cup of hot coffee to see Kid Curry standing and staring out the window onto the street below. "Something else is  bothering you.    You  look like you just lost your best friend."

"I think maybe I have."   He turned a forlorn half smile towards her.

Evangeline was taken aback by his words. Surely this strong confident deadly gunman wasn't feeling insecure because of her relationship with his friend.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that my partner cares about you.  Probably more than he should.  And you care about him too, don't you."

"Of course I do.  I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to him.  But there's one thing I've understood from the very  first moment Joshua mentioned your name to me.  And that's that you two come as a pair.  Your like shoes or gloves.  You have to have both of them or they don't work like they're supposed to.  If you take one you've got to take the other or it just doesn't work.  I know that and I understand it.  The two of you share a bond that could never be broken.   I don't even think he could pull his boots on in the morning if you weren't around."

"That's true we do share a bond that most people will never understand.  But you understand it.  You know what it's like to lose everything and to be alone.  And the one person who was there to share that experience and that grief is the one person that you're gonna want to cling to.  The one person that makes you feel not alone.   The one person you'll never want to lose."

"And your afraid of losing him?"

"No.  I'm afraid of you losing him."

"I don't understand."

He knew Heyes wasn't going to like it when he found out he'd told her what he was about to tell her, but she deserved to know the truth.  "Living outside the law when you've got an unpenatrable hideout like Devil's Hole is one thing.  But trying to live a law abiding life while the rest of the world thinks your still outside the law, and you don't have a sanctuary like Devil's Hole to go to, well, now that's a whole different story.

"Until our amnesty comes through, we have to live like gypsies.  Moving from town to town, trying to find honest work.  And just when we think we've found a place we can stay put a while, somebody will ride into town that we used to ride with or that we recognize as a passenger on train we've held up.  So we have to pack up and leave.  And we can't just go into a town and check into a hotel like normal people.   We have to check out the sheriff's office first, make sure we don't know him or any of his deputies.  And if the sheriff is somebody we've run into before, we have to keep on going to the next town.  No matter how tired we are, or how hungry, or what the weather is.  We keep riding until we come to a town where we don't recognize anybody.  And those are the times when we've got money.  If we're broke we  have to sleep outside, eat whatever we can find or shoot.   You know how tired you were of sleeping on the ground when we came into town last night?   And how bad you wanted a bath?"

She nodded.

"Well, me and Heyes have had to go for weeks at a time, with no bath, no bed and nothing to eat but berries we found growing wild outside.  It's a hard life most days for us, Evie.  And I haven't even told you about the times when we do get spotted by somebody who knows us and we have to high tail it out of town, watching over our backs hoping there's not a posse on our tails.  We've had to leave town before without going back to our hotel room to get our stuff.  Those are the times when it's really fun.  Then it's not just hard,  it's dangerous.  And it's no kind of life for a young woman."

She had never even considered the kind of hardships they must face on a daily basis, being wanted while trying to live straight and honest lives.  Her time with Joshua out on the trail, though born out of lose and grief, had been so magical that it had never occurred to her what life would be like after they arrived back in civilization.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is....if you've got your heart set on a white picket fence kind of life with Hannibal Heyes......the odds are against it Evie.  The only way either one of us can even hope to settle down and have a family, is if we get our amnesty.  And the longer we wait the weaker our hopes get that we're ever gonna get it.  And I care about you, and about him too much to watch the two of you get attached to one another and then have to watch you get your hearts broken.  And I'd sure hate it if something happened to us and you were left to fend for yourself.  We could be arrested or even killed.  We're worth the same dead as we are alive."

His words visibly shook her.  She felt suddenly like a deflated balloon.  All the wind was gone from her sails.  She longed for Josua's reassuring presence.  She wanted him to hold and tell her everything was going to be alright.  But he wasn't there.  She needed to be alone.  She threw off the covers and began to make an  appearance of  eagerly  gathering soap and towel.

"I'd best be getting up.  I'd like to wash up and get changed if you'll excuse me."

"I'm sorry I had to upset you.  I just think you deserve to know what to expect.  And you need to consider your options for the future.  You've got a family you know.  I'm sure they would like to get to know you."

He went into the adjoining room and closed the door behind him.  She sat on the edge of the bed and stared hopelessly at the wooden floor.  How naive and stupid she was.  All this time she was foolishly thinking that she would just trail along behind Joshua wherever he went.  He would protect her and provide for her.  Even after she found out that he was the notorious outlaw Hannibal Heyes, she still had that same dillusional dream.  She had never once given any thought to how dangerous it might be.  Or how much of a liability she would be to them.  She might accidentally give them away to the wrong person and cost them their future.  Or their lives.  We're  worth the same dead as we are alive. She vigorously shook her head to rid her mind of those words.   She pictured the two of them riding hard to escape a relentless posse that was  shooting at them as they tried to get away.  Then she pictured Joshua trying to shield her from the bullets and getting shot himself.  Again she shook her head to banish the unwanted vision.   She didn't think she could live with herself if they were captured or killed because she had slowed them down.  She wished he were here now so she could ask him why he hadn't prepared her for the harsh reality of his world.  And why Thaddeus had had to do it. But she suspected that it was for the same reason he hadn't told her who really was in the first place.  He didn't think she could handle it and he didn't want to burden her with the truth.  He thought he could protect her from it.  He had promised her he wouldn't leave her at the first sheriff's office they came to.  She believed he wouldn't.  But she now believed that regardless of how he felt about her,   he would have to eventually leave her.  For her own sake and theirs as well.

She poured water  into the basin and washed her face.  It was still sore from the backhand she'd taken from Harlan.  And her hand was sore, too.  From the right hook he'd given to the saloon girl. And her legs were achy.  From riding Jenny so many  hours yesterday.  And her head hurt.  And her stomach was queazy.  No doubt from the hangover.

She pulled her dress off over her head.  She had slept in it all night and it was wrinkled and smelled like vomit.  Gee, I wonder why?  It was the only dress she had left that actually fit her. The red floral print calico had never been one of her favorites.  The dress Harlan had forced her to wear was ruined, stained with mud.  Her brother's shirt was nothing more than rags now.  And her mother's dress was almost as revealing as Sally's had been last night.  Why had she left her skirt, blouse and petticoats behind that very first day she'd been with Joshua.  She had been so distraught she had changed out of them and left them lying by the river's edge.   She had a trunk full of beautiful skirts, blouses and dresses inside her family's wagon.  But they were gone forever she was sure.   Oh, well she had little choice.  She laid her brothers britches out on the bed and decided she would ask one of the boys if she could  borrow a shirt.  They would be riding again in the morning anyway.   She stripped off her camisole and her bloomers and was met with an unwelcome surprise.   "Oh, no.  Not now,"  she groaned in dismay.  When was something going to go right for her.  The immature child that still lingered inside of her screamed, "This isn't fair!"   While the mature young lady her mother had taught her to be was saying,  "Just deal with it.  You've been through far worse."    The immature child and the mature young lady warred with each other for a moment before the pouting immature girl finally won.  She found Gabe's tattered shirt.  This would have to do.  She put her under clothes back on, climbed into the bed and buried herself under  the covers.   She refused to face another thing,  especially the prospect of giving Joshua up.

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"She awake yet?"

"Yeah, she's washing up and getting dressed,"  Kid told Heyes as he sat by the window and cleaned his Colt.

"How's she feeling?  She drink the coffee?"

"Yep.   And I don't think she feels too bad.  She seemed fine to me."

"How long has she been changing?"

"A pretty good while.  She should be done by now."

Heyes knocked lightly at her door.  "Evie?  You decent?"

No response.  He looked questioningly at Kid, who shrugged.

He knocked again as he cracked the door.  He stuck his head in slightly.  She was lying on her side in the middle of the  bed  facing away from the door covered up to her neck.

"Hey, I thought you were getting dressed."

"Go away," she mumbled.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just go away."

He crossed the room to her bedside.   "Are you sick?  Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I'm not sick.  Just go away."

"Are you hurt?"  He moved to pull the quilt from under her chin.

"NO!  I don't want you looking at me!"  she yelled as she clutched tightly to the quilt and turned further into the mattress.  "Please get out."

"Are you in pain?  Is it your hand?  Do I need to get the doc?"   He was starting to get worried.

She sighed heavily, knowing he wasn't going to relent and leave her alone.  "Yes I'm in pain, and no it's not my hand and no I don't need a doctor.  Just please go away, Joshua."  For the love of God please just go away.


"You're in pain?   Where?"  he sat on the edge of the bed.   "If you don't tell me where you hurt how can I make it better."

"You can't."

"No I can't if you don't let me try."

"Fine.  I hurt here."   She threw back the covers and placed her hand low on her abdomen.  "I have cramps."

She wore only her under clothes.  And she was holding her belly.  Cramps?   It took him a moment to comprehend what she was saying.  When the realization came he silently mouthed the word "Oh," to himself.  Oh, great, now what was he supposed to do, or say.  He wasn't sure.  He rose silently from the bed and hurried back into the other room.

"She alright?"

"Not exactly."

"She sick?"

"Not exactly."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's....uh, well, she's....doing that lady thing....you know that thing that ladies do.... every month."

Kid stared at him, perplexed.  Then it sunk in.  "Ooohhh.   Oh.  What do we do?"  Kid asked with a panicked look on his face.

"That's what I came in here to ask you."

"Me?  How do I know what to do?"

"You're the lady's man right?"

"Well that part of the ladies ain't exactly my specialty, Heyes."

"Mine neither."

"Wait,"  Kid snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend, " I've got an idea.  I'll be back in a bit."   Kid grabbed his hat and headed out the door.

Heyes turned nervous eyes towards the adjoining bedroom.  This was the first time he'd really been alone with her since the Kid had come looking for them, and it wasn't the first time since he'd known her he hadn't wanted to be alone with her.  Only this time he wasn't afraid of what he might do to her.  He was afraid of what she might do to him.   He didn't know what to do when a woman was... doing that.  But he had heard horror stories from men in bunk houses and saloons.  He remembered one man describing it as walking blind folded in a field full of rattlesnakes. You had to tread cautiously.  One wrong step and.... Think Heyes,  women are like safes.  If they're particularly difficult to crack you have to be a little more patient, listen more carefully and be a little more delicate with the handling.  Eventually their door would swing open.  And if not you get a good bunch of dynamite....no, that won't work.  So, patient, attentive, delicate.  Piece of cake.  


He crept cautiously back to her bedside and sat beside her.

"Why are you still here?"  she sounded annoyed.

"I had to go talk to Kid for a minute."

"You didn't tell him did you?"

"Well, I...I...."

"You did!  Oh!  How could you?  I didn't want you to know, let alone Thaddeus."

He stretched himself out beside her and spooned her against him.

"Don't touch me."

"I can remember a time not too many days ago when somebody was begging me to let her sleep snuggled up next to me."

"That was before.  I wasn't having my monthly curse.  Don't you find it disgusting?"  She couldn't believe she was even discussing this particular subject with him.  No self respecting woman talked about such things, especially to a man.

He propped his head up on one elbow and looked down at her profile.  "No, I don't find it disgusting.  It's just part of being a woman, right.  And I think I'm beginning to like the fact that you're a woman more and more."   In fact he found her current condition to only accentuate her femininity and made him feel utterly male.   He felt an almost primitive need to protect her and stake a claim to her.

"Show me again where it hurts."

She placed her hand on her abdomen.  He folded back the quilt and slid his hand over her hip and in under her hand.  "Here?"  She nodded.  He began to move his hand in slow circles over her painful pelvis.  Patient, attentive, delicate.   "Better?"  Again she nodded and he felt her turn slightly towards him, giving him better access to her tender swollen belly.

"Your hand is  warm.  Warmth always makes it better."  Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He withdrew his hand to pull the quilt back over them adding to the warmth.   She immediately missed the warm massaging of his large hand and wished it back.  She had been so ready for him to leave her alone earlier.  She had felt shamed and embarrassed.  But he had put her at ease and had helped to sooth her pain.  She felt no embarrassment now.  It felt right and natural.

He couldn't resist the temptation of her slender throat that lay exposed to his gaze and he nuzzled her there, inhaling the womanly scent of her.   He let his hand find its way back to her waist, and around to her stomach.  He encountered the top edge of her white bloomers.  With the subtlety and grace of an experienced pick pocket, his hand lifted the edge of her bloomers and eased its way down to splay across her bare abdomen before she had a chance to protest.

  She drew in a ragged breath.   She should have protested.  It was down right scandleous to be lying snuggled with man while she had her monthy curse.  But his heated, calloused, manly hands, caressing her made her feel so good, she didn't really care.  And so she turned even further towards him, practically onto her back and allowed him free access to her hurting flesh.  He began anew his circular caressing.  He looked down into her beautiful face, pinched in pain.  As she continued to minister to her hurting belly, her expression went from pained, to relaxed to seductive.  Her eyes fluttered open to find him watching her intently.  His eyes glazed over with a look of male possessiveness.  His wonderful warm hands had worked magic on her cramping womb and now she felt completely at ease.

This man, this beautiful man - how had she ever thought him merely handsome -  he was simply beautiful.  He  had now seen her at her very worst in every possible way.   When he'd  found her she had been unconscious.  He'd seen her hysterical.  He'd wiped her tears when she was wracked with sorrow and grief.  He's seen her too frightened to sleep alone.  He'd seen her dirty and he'd seen her clean.    He'd seen her laugh, cry, scream. act like a brat and a jealous drunken idiot.    He'd fed her, clothed her, protected her.   He'd touched her in ways no man had ever touched her before and kissed her like she would never be kissed by anyone else.  And now as she lay here in the midst of the most private feminine experience a woman could have, he was here with her trying to comfort her and ease her pain.  He  wasn't running scared like most men would have.  On the contrary,  he was going out of his way to alleviate her embarrassment and discomfort, in spite of his own.  Just like he always did.  She didn't know what came over her then,  whether raging hormones or the undeniable charismatic presense of the man himself, but she was overwhelmed with the urge to nurture and care for him like he was always doing for her.   She reached and touched his face.  She moved her hands over his thick dark brows,  his feathery eyelashes, his cute nose, his full lips, and finally that dimple.  She laid her hand gently on his cheek as she caressed that beloved dimple with her thumb.  It felt like every nerve ending in her body was on fire when he turned his lips to kiss the palm of her hand.

This woman was going to be the death of him.  She was slowly torturing him to death with the looks she was giving him.  Did she have any idea what it was doing to him to have her touch him like this while she looked at him like that.  He doubted if she did.  She was too inexperienced and still so innocent.  But she was learning.  Fast.  He was completely baffled at this own behavior where she was concerned.  She had somehow become the exception to every rule he and the Kid had  set for themselves when it came to women.  There had never been a shortage of available and willing women in their lives, but being outlaws, they had always understood that you enjoyed them while you could and then you moved on.  Their partnership and their freedom came first.  But when Evangeline Webb had happened into his life, the rules had changed.  He had changed. Everything had changed.  And it was starting to scare the hell out of him.  But it didn't scare him half as much as losing her.  His intention was to plant a gentle kiss on her palm and leave her bed.  That was the wise thing to do.  But the contact of his lips to her skin,  and her quivering intake of breath when it happened, started an avalanche of emotions that he could not contain and they came crashing down on him in wave after wave of intence feeling.  He wanted to teach her everything he knew.  And protect her from things she shouldn't know He wanted to love her, protect her, make a life with her.  Her soft lips were parted slightly in anticipation, and he didn't make her wait any longer, as he brought his mouth down hungrily upon hers.

It was like they were back inside that cave again, just the two of them, picking up where they had left off.   All the desire he had aroused in her then had been unfamiliar and a little frightening.  But now fear was replaced by curiosity and boldness.  She raised her head from the pillow and met his descending  mouth.  It was a purely carnal kiss at first.  Voracious in it's intensity.  It was like they were each trying to consume the other.  Desire and need were in the forefront.  Then something changed.  And it became an excercise in giving for both of them as each tried to convey to the other the depth of their feelings in the single act of touching mouths.  Instead of consuming each other they were feeding each other.  Everything that Thaddeus had said to her earlier, ceased to matter in this moment as she completely lost her self in the sensations he evoked in her with his mouth on hers and his hand on her belly.   Could anything be more wonderful than this, she thought.

Her question was answered when his hand, his oh so magical hand began a leisurely trek up her belly, past her navel and under the hem of her camisole.  Yes, there was something better.  She knew his intention and welcomed his seeking touch.  She arched her back in anticipation of his hand on her breast which was now heaving with desire.   Then from the adjoining room came the sound of a key turning in the lock, and the spell was broken.

  He jumped from the bed and away from her as if she were suddenly made of hot coals and he had been scalded.  Before her passion clouded mind could even make sense of what was happening, he'd went into the next room and closed the door, obviously not wanting her to be found in a compromising position.

Heyes barely had time to close Evie's door and make an attempt at acting natural, before the other door swung open and Kid Curry stepped in from the hallway, followed by a pretty blonde woman carrying a bundle in her arms.  He had not, however,  had time to conceal the physical evidence of the moment he'd just shared with Evangeline.

"Aw, no,"  Kid groaned turning his head away and putting up his hand as if to shield his eyes from a blinding light.

"Oh, crap,"  Heyes grumbled turning his back to them his face going beet red.  He pulled his shirt tail out to try and  conceal the telling bulge.

"Oh, my,"  said the blonde with an appreciative smile.

"Uh, she's right in here. Her name's Evangeline, she's a real nice girl.  You'll like her."   Kid practically shoved the blonde through the door to Evie's room before he closed it, not too lightly.

"Well, I don't guess I have to ask what's been going on since I left."

Heyes didn't answer.  He just kept his back to the Kid and stared out the window.
"Geez, Heyes, you sure work fast.  I was only gone ten minutes.   What the devil are you thinking?"

"Kid, I told you, when it comes to her I don't think, I just... react."

"You do know what that kind of reacting leads to don't ya?"

"For me usually a cigar and a good stiff whiskey,"  he smarted under his breath.

"Ha ha, real funny.  But it also leads to babies.  And girls with ruined reputations.  Is that what you want?  To ruin her life?"

"Of course not!  I just can't help myself.  You know I've always been the epitome of self control.  But with her, I just can't control myself.  It's like finding a safe full of money out in the middle of nowhere, Kid, and it doesn't belong to anybody and you know you can crack the combination easy.  Would you be able to resist?"

"She's not a safe full of money, Heyes.   She's a nineteen year old girl.  A nineteen year old girl who's completely dependent on you."

"I know that,"  Heyes threw back a little defensively.  He was feeling more that a little ashamed of himself.  Not only for compromising Evie but for having been caught doing it.

"Not only that, she's in love with you.   She wouldn't say no to you about anything right now.  How far would you have taken things if we hadn't walked in when we did?"

His silence spoke volumes.

"That's what I thought.  Well, that settles it.  I'm not leaving the two of you alone for a minute and we're sending that telegraph to her kin folks today.  I'll send it as soon as Sally gets done with Evie.  I'll walk her back to the saloon."

"Sally?  From the saloon?  That was her?  You mean you just left those two in the same room together?"   Heyes was reaching for the doorknob when Kid stopped him.

"Relax.  I took care of it.  She's here to help with the uh...situation.  I figured we needed female help.  And I got to know Sally pretty well last night, so I asked for her help and she was more than willing.  Just let them have some time together.  She'll probably be glad to have some female company for a change."

He relented though he didn't like it.  He began to pace the floor in front of Evie's door.    He stopped several times to put his ear to the door.  He didn't hear anything.  Maybe Kid was right.  He'd just sit and wait.  And pray he wasn't going to have to bust in a stop a cat fight.

Soundtrack Selection for Chapter 16

"Leather and Lace"

Is love so fragile, and the heart so hollow,
Shatter with words, impossible to follow.
You're saying I'm fragile.  I try not to be.
I search only, for something I can't see.
I have my own life, and I am stronger than you know.
But I carry this feeling, when you walked into my house,
That you won't be walking out the door.
Still I carry this feeling, when you walked into my house,
That you won't be walking out the door.

Lovers forever, face to face.
My city, your mountain.
Stay with me stay.
I need you to love me
I need you today.
Give to me your leather
Take from me my lace.

You in the moonlight, with your sleepy eyes.
Could you ever love a man like me?
And you were right, when I walked into your house,
I knew I'd never want to leave.
Sometimes I'm a strong man, sometimes cold and scared
And sometimes I cry.
But that time I saw you, I knew with you to light my nights,
Somehow I'd get by.
First time I saw you, I knew with you to light my nights,
Somehow I would get by.

Lovers forever, face to face.
My city, your mountain
Stay with me stay.
I need you to love me.
I need you today.
Give to me your leather.
Take from me my lace.

Words and music by the incomparable Stevie Nicks.  I wanted to be her when I was a kid.

A perfect song for our couple.  

A Song for Pete

Thank you, Peter.  This song is for you.

To My Readers

Alas, the time has come that my postings have caught up to my writing.  All the chapters I have posted so far, with the exception of 14 and 15 were already finished months ago.  Before I posted one thru thirteen  I only had to do some minor tweaking and research.  But now I am in the process of writing the remaining chapters.  I have been posting about one chapter a week, but that probably won't be the case from now on.  I won't compromise the quality of the story just to post every week.  I will not post the next chapter until it is complete to my satisfaction.  I hope all of you who have been reading have enjoyed what I've written so far.  It has been a labor of love for me for nearly a year.  And I don't know what I will do with myself when it is finished. It has practically taken over my life. My thoughts are consumed with ideas for the next chapter and funny lines the boys would say.  Okay,  you can say it,... heck I'll say it.... OBSESSED!  But until it is finished,  I will continue to write, and I hope you will continue to read.  And I hope it will be worth the wait.

The pictures are for you Clarissa.  Hope you've got your fan handy. ;)

Peace, Love, and Blessings to you all,
Karen
and as always....love you Pete.

Chapter 15

The rushing Pecos river wound noisily southwestward towards the Rio Grande.  Fluffy white clouds floated lazily eastward against a brilliant blue sky.  A westerly breeze set the surrounding trees into a synchronized swaying dance.  And the late afternoon sun shone down on two weary ex outlaws as they rested by the fireside in the clearing, waiting for the unconscious young woman lying nearby to awake.  Heyes watched  her, while the Kid watched Heyes.   Kid had taken a short nap and lay awake now observing his friend.

Hannibal Heyes was in love.  There was not question about it. He'd never said the words out loud, but just like Evangeline had told him, some things didn't have to be said, they were understood.  And Kid Curry understood.  After saving her life twice, his feelings for Evangeline had gone from theory to absolute fact. At least from Kid Curry's view.

"Hey, Kid?  You awake?" Heyes asked never taking his eyes of Evie.

"Yeah, I'm awake, Heyes."

"Do you think she's gonna be mad?"

"She might be a little upset at first, but when she understands that you had to get her clothes off to...."

"No, no, I mean about you and me.  Who we really are.  Me  lying to her this whole time.  I think she's gonna be mad."

"You've  saved her life, Heyes.  Twice.  Don't you think that's gonna soften the blow just a bit."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Not to mention the fact that I think she's just about as in love with you as you are with her.  So I'm pretty sure she'll forgive you."

Heyes head snapped sideways to stare at his partner.  Could it be true?  Could Evangeline be in love with him?  Women had claimed to be in love with him before.  But they had really been in love with their romantic notion of being in love with an outlaw.  He didn't think any of them had ever really loved him.  None of them had ever really taken the time to get to know who he really was.   They had always been swept up  in the glamour and excitement of being romanced by the most wanted man in the west.  The leader of the most notorious gang  west of the Mississippi.  But Evie.... she had only known him as Joshua Smith. She had no prior knowledge of who he really was or the things he'd done when she met him.   He knew she felt gratitude towards him, but love?

"I don't think you're gonna have to wait much longer to find out."

Heyes turned his eyes from his partner to the sleeping girl.  She was starting to stir. Had it only been a week ago that he'd sat by the fire in the night waiting for her to regain consciousness, just like now.  Only this time, he wasn't bracing himself for hysterical grief.  He honestly didn't know what to expect from her this time.  "Considering we did save her life, maybe she won't be too upset."

                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had been out for a couple of hours when she started to stir.  She blinked her blurry eyes open.  She felt incredibly warm.  And light, like a feather on the breeze.  She was so warm.  There was a fire nearby, the early evening sun beat down on her, and she was wrapped tightly in a blanket.   She moved to sit up and throw the blanket off her.

"No! Don't!"  The two familiar male voices shouting in tandem halted her movements.

"Joshua?  Thaddeus?  What's the matter?"

"Don't take the blanket off just yet,"  Joshua said.

She glanced down at the blanket.  Then lifting the edge of the blanket she peeked underneath.  Her mouth fell open.  She turned wide eyes on the two men sitting there with guilty yet apologetic smiles on their faces,  and gaped at them.  "I'm.....naked."  She whispered the last word.  She saw her clothes and shoes hanging near the fire to dry.

"You were all wet remember.  After we pulled you up from the bluff over there,"  Joshua explained.

Everything came back to her now.   She remembered it all.   The death of her parents and her brother.   The week with Joshua.  The last two days with Harlan Mathis.  Mathis falling to his death.    "He's dead, isn't he."

"Yes, he's dead.  He won't hurt you or anybody else ever again."

She gazed up at the face of the man speaking to her.  That face.  She also remembered that face.  She loved that face. How had she ever thought him merely handsome.  He wasn't handsome, he was beautiful.   How could a person so sweet with a face that innocent and beautiful,  possibly be responsible for countless train and bank robberies?  Especially with those dimples.   Yes, she remembered that too.  What he'd told Harlan.  Who he and Thaddeus really were.  She hadn't wanted to believe it.  She had thought he was making the whole thing up just to intimidate the evil man he faced.  But when she'd asked him if it was a lie, she had seen the truth in his eyes.  It all made sense.  Everyone knew Heyes and Curry were extremely loyal partners, never far apart.  That Heyes was a near genius at the poker table.  And Curry was faster than anybody with a gun. She had witnessed all three of those points. And the stories about being in Devil's Hole.  Yes, it all fit.  But what was she going to do about it?  Did it really matter? That they were notorious outlaws, wanted dead or alive?  No, not really.  She loved and trusted both of them.  She knew she would always be safe with them.  That they had lied to her all this time?  Yeah, that one kind of ticked her off.

She took in a lung full of the cool evening air, and exhaled it slowly.  Then she turned accusing eyes on her two companions.  "Which one of you undressed me?"

The two ex-outlaws looked nervously at the ground and hemmed and hawed until finally , "I did,"  Heyes admitted while Kid pointed at his partner and mouthed the words "He did."

"But I didn't see anything,"  Heyes added quickly  in a less than convincing tone.

"Well are you two going to sit there and squirm or are you going to get me something to put on so I can get up and fix us some supper."

Both boys exhaled, having avoided a tantrum that most women would have thrown.  "I'll get you some clothes,"  Heyes said smiling.

"I'll get the cooking vessels,"  Kid said with a hungry look on his face.

                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were enjoying their meal in silence.  Evie hadn't said a thing to them about being Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry.  They were beginning to think maybe they were off the hook.

"Hey, Kid, do you think maybe she forgot about who we really are?"  Heyes whispered around a mouthful of food so only the Kid would hear.

“Is it difficult?”  Evie asked, surprising the ex-outlaws.

Both men stopped chewing and looked in unison first at her and then at each other.

“Is what difficult?”  Kid asked.

“Robbing a bank.”

Heyes began coughing as he choked on the mouthful of food he had been chewing.

“Well I guess that answers that question,”  the Kid said  so only Heyes could hear.

"And what about the trains.  Is that difficult as well?"

Both men sat mute with their heads lowered like two children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"And what about telling the truth?  Is that difficult?  Apparently it is because I've been with the two of you for three days now, and with you for over a week  and it never occurred to either of you to mention the fact that you're Hannibal Heyes and you're Kid Curry?"

 Thaddeus was the first to get the nerve to speak.  "That's not exactly the kind of information we go passing around to just anybody, Evie."

"I didn't think I was just anybody?"  She looked Heyes dead in the eye, before throwing her half eaten meal to the ground and storming off.

The partners eyed each other briefly before Heyes rose to follow after her.  She was walking briskly, arms folded across her chest towards the river.  She stood near the edge and shuddered a little remembering how it felt to dangle over that edge not long ago,  when he came up behind her.

 "I know you're mad, but..."

"Mad?"  She turned to him, a wounded look in her eyes.  "I'm not mad.  Well, maybe I am a little but mostly..... I'm hurt.  Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't ever tell people who I really am when I meet them Evie, surely you can understand why."

"Even after all that we've been through together.  And it's not like you didn't have plenty of opportunities.  I even asked you how you knew so much about outlaws, and  you told me it was because you knew some.  Knowing the whole time you were one.  And not just any outlaw. You're one of the most wanted men in the country.  Responsible for God only knows how many robberies.   And you let me go on about being afraid to go to Devil's Hole.  You could have told me then that you lived there.   What were you afraid of?  That I would turn you in?  I hope you know me better than that by now."

"I know, I'm sorry.  There were times I thought about telling you, but you were dealing with so much already."

"All the things you told me about your childhood, and your parents being killed and being sent to the home....was any of it true?"

Now he was a little hurt, and it showed in his eyes.  "Yes, it was all true.  The only thing I told you that wasn't true is that my name is Joshua Smith and that his name is Thaddeus Jones,"  he pointed to the Kid with his thumb over his shoulder.  "Everything else was true."

She turned away from him.  She wanted to be mad at him a little longer.  But the hurt look in his dreamy brown eyes was weakening her resolve.  Now she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss his dimpled cheeks all over and forgive him and tell him how much she loved him.  But she didn't. "When were you going to tell me?  Were you ever going to tell me?  Or were you just going to let me go on making a fool of myself forever?"

He smiled as he walked up behind her.  She was softening up, he could tell.  "A fool is the last thing I'd call you."  He boldly put his hands on her small waist.

"You didn't trust me enough to tell me.  That hurts my feelings. And you didn't answer my question.  When were you going to tell me?"

"Alright, I honestly don't know when I was going to tell you."  He took his boldness a step further and encircled  his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.  "I was just waiting for the right time.  But now I don't have to wait for the right time because you already know that I'm Hannibal Heyes."   He placed gentle lips to her temple and to her swollen bruised jaw.

She let her head fall back against his shoulder as she folded her arms across his that enclosed her waist.  She closed her eyes as he  gently swayed her slightly back and forth  She hadn't realized how much she had missed having him so close to her until he was there, enveloping her in his warm embrace.  "What were you planning to do, just drop me off at the next sheriff's office and leave me behind?"

He spun her around to face him and looked deeply into her eyes,  "Hey,  I hope you know me better than that by now.  I would never leave you like that."

He was doing it again.  Probing into her soul with his eyes.  How could she possibly stay mad or hurt at him.  She knew now why her mother forgave her father anything.  If he told her right now he was responsible for the entire civil war and the Lincoln assassination she would have forgiven him.  And she believed him.  And she trusted him.   "You promise?"

"I promise."

She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly to her.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked, hugging her tightly back.

"Yes, I forgive you.  But from now on no secrets.  I would never do anything to hurt you or betray your trust."   And I love you, she wanted to add.

"Doesn't it bother you even a little bit that I'm a wanted man?"

"I guess it will only bother me if you get caught."

"Well, we'll have to do our best to keep that from happening."

"We've got a lot of things to figure out don't we?"

"We'll figure 'em out together, alright?"

She nodded and smiled up into his dimpled face,  before he lowered his lips to hers sealing his promise with a tender kiss.  They walked back to the fire hand in hand.

The three sat and watched in awe as the sun put on a breathtaking display of color before it finally disappeared behind the trees to their west.   Evie sat flanked by the two ex outlaws as they explained their amnesty deal with the governor of Wyoming.  Now she knew everything.  And she was delighted that they had made the decision to go straight.  Although she didn't think it would have made any difference to her if they would have told her they were going to clear out the entire Denver Mint tomorrow.  In fact, as she looked at Joshua's beautiful face beside her, she figured she  would have probably asked them what she could do to help.

"I've just got one dilemma though."

"What's that?"  Heyes asked  her.

"What do I call you?"  She looked at Kid,  "I don't even know what your real name is.  Unless your mother was extremely unimaginative."

"My real name is Jedediah.  Everybody called me Jed until I was about nineteen.  Heyes still calls me Jed when he's feeling particularly nostalgic. "

"I don't think I want to call you Heyes.  And I got the distinct impression that you don't want anybody calling you Hannibal."

"No I don't,"  he said emphatically.

"Aw, come on, Heyes, don't you want her to call you what Laura Thompson used to call you back at the home."

"Shut up Kid."

"What did she call him?"  Evie asked with amused enthusiasm.

"Kid...don't."

"She called him 'Hannie'."

"Awww, that's so sweet.  May I call you Hannie?"

"No, you may not,"  he glared at his partner to  let him know pay back was inevitable.  "Anyway I think it's best if you just keep calling us Thaddeus and Joshua.  That way we won't have to worry about you letting it slip in front of the wrong people."

"Alright then, Joshua and Thaddeus it is.  I guess we better get some rest now.   I don't know about you two but I'm exhausted. "

Kid yawned.  "Who takes first watch?"

Heyes reached into his pocket and produced a silver coin.  "Call it."

Minutes later,  she crawled into her bed roll and waited for Hannibal Heyes to crawl into his behind her, while Kid Curry watched over them as they slept.  She had never felt this safe and protected in her entire life.  Or this happy.

"Good night, Jed."

"Night, Evie."

“Good night, Hannie.”

She heard his exasperated huff.  “Now see what you’ve started?”

“Aw, come on Heyes, she’s just joshin’ with ya.”

“Well, how would you like to be called that stupid sounding name?”

“It could be worse Heyes.”

“Oh yeah. How?”

She didn’t hear Kid’s response.  She was drifting off.  The sound of their lighthearted bickering was like a lullaby to her and she drifted off into the most peaceful, dreamless sleep she had ever known.

                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ragtag threesome rode into the small town of Alpine at dusk the next day.  They had decided to take their chances with the sheriff, hoping he wouldn’t be anyone they had ever come across.  And they were all so road dusty and saddle soar they didn't really care.  But to their surprise, as they rode through town, they discovered that Alpine had no sheriff.  There was a sheriff’s office with a one cell jail, but the sheriff had died last year and the town had not bothered to hire a new one.  They all breathed heavy sighs of relieve as they rode through the dusty streets toward the only hotel in town.  They would wait until they got to Red Rock to inform the sheriff of all that had happened.

The sinking sun was the cue for the local ladies of the evening to come out onto the balcony of the rooms they inhabited above the only saloon in town, which was across the street from the hotel.  A town as small and remote as Alpine, rarely had strangers visiting, especially two young handsome men like the ones who just rode in with a girl.  Sally and Lucy watched as the three rode wearily into town and towards the hotel.  “Howdy, boys,”  they called to the two strangers as they waved their feather boas and batted their painted eyes.

Evangeline eyed the two painted ladies with the skimpy clothing with reproach.  Were they speaking to Joshua and Thaddeus?

The boys dismounted and Heyes came to help Evie from Jenny’s back.  When she was safely on the ground his hands lingered at her waistline a moment and he flashed his beautiful dimples down at her.

“Hey blondie,  if you’ve got the money honey, I’ve got the time.  Why don’t you come up and see me?”   the dark haired Lucy crooned.  Kid just smiled and waved.

“You, too, Dimples,”  called the blond haired Sally.

“Is she talking to you?”  Evie inquired, a little miffed.

“Don’t pay any attention.  They always do that when it starts getting dark.”

“Hey, Dimples,”  Sally called out again, “you ever feel like trading in that raggedy little thing for a real woman, you let me know, you hear.”

“She’s talking about me, isn’t she?”  Evangeline glanced down at her disheveled, dirty self.  No wonder she'd called her raggedy.  But they didn't know her or what she had been through.  It made her angry.  And how dare she flirt so blatantly with a man who, for all she knew, was hers.  She gave the woman a “how dare you” stare with her hands on her hips, that only produced a barrage of laughter from the flirtatious soiled doves.  When she opened her mouth to really let them have it, she was silenced by Heyes hand over her mouth.

“Don’t bother.  They’ll just keep laughing at you. Besides we’re used to it.  Happens in every town we stay in.  Forget about them.  Let’s go in and get a room then find Mr. McCreedy.”

“I can’t wait for a bath,”  Evie said.

“I can’t wait for a thick steak and soft bed,”  Kid said.

“I can’t wait for a cigar and good stiff whiskey,”  Heyes said.

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later, they sat in the hotel dining room, all bathed and changed, eating steaks with all the trimmings, courtesy of Patrick McCreedy.  They shared with their bespectacled benefactor the harrowing details of their adventures out on the trail.  Mr.  McCreedy had in turn informed them that the two surviving gang members had been apprehended a couple of days ago and were now awaiting trial in Austin, as soon as they both healed up.  Mac bought the hotel’s finest wine to celebrate their safe return.   Evangeline, not accustomed to drinking alcohol, after two glasses was quite tipsy.  And after a third was down right drunk.  The boys escorted her back to their adjoining rooms, where she collapsed on her bed in a wine induced sleep.  She had managed to bid them both a slurred good night before she succumbed to her intoxication .

“Why don’t you go on over.  You never did get that whiskey you wanted,”  Kid said to his partner who now stood at the window  watching the saloon across the street.

“Nah, I don’t want to leave her.  She might wake up and need something.”

“I’ll be here.  I’ll watch her.”

Heyes walked to the door that led to the adjoining room where Evie was sleeping.  The door was ajar as she had requested.  He peeked in and she was sound asleep.

“You’ll keep an eye on her?”

“Sure.  I won’t let her out of my sight.”

“Alright.”  He grabbed his hat from the hat rack on the back of the door.  “I’ll just have one.  Or maybe two.  I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time.  I’d say she’s out for the night, so play a little poker if you want.”   Heyes didn’t hear that last part.  He was already out the door.

                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was nursing his second whiskey as he leaned with both elbows against the bar.  The first he’d downed in one quick shot.  Boy, he’d needed that.  And it was good to have some time alone.  He closed his eyes and absorbed the smells and sounds that came standard with all saloons.  They were familiar and comforting.  Familiar was good.  Because lately, everything he’d said, done and felt were vastly unfamiliar.  He had never felt for anybody what he felt for Evangeline.  And he’d needed these few quiet moments to himself to come to terms with just what and how he felt.  But even though the time alone was much needed, he found himself even now, wanting to hurry back across the street to be where she was.  To watch her while she slept.  To be there if she awoke and needed him.  He turned briefly and scanned the room.  The smoky room was filled with two of his greatest weaknesses,  bad poker players and voluptuous women.  But tonight neither one held as much appeal as watching a slightly tipsy nineteen year old poetry reading young woman sleep.  What was it about her?  He didn't know.  He just knew that when he had first found her, he was waiting to get rid of her so his life could continue like it always had.  But now....he was dreading to be apart from her and he felt in many ways like his life had just begun.  He turned back to lean on the bar.  He was anxious now to get back to her.   As soon as he finished this one, he’d head back to the hotel.

He was just downing the last of the whiskey when a pair of female hands came from behind to caress his shoulders, and a warm soft body was pressed against his back.  "Hello, there, Dimples. Remember me?  My name’s  Sally.   I knew you'd be around to see me sooner or later.  I'm sure glad you made it sooner and not later."  The deep, seductive  female voice belonged the the busty blond that had called to him from the balcony earlier.  She brought her mouth close  to his ear and purred  "You know it ain't everyday that men as good lookin' as you and your friend ride into this town.    Why not come up to my room and let me take care of all your worries?  I don’t think that little thing you rode in here with knows how to handle a stud like you.   Whadda ya say, Dimples?"

                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evangeline awoke to a dark and silent room.  How long had she been asleep.  She stretched and rubbed her eyes.  "Joshua?"  she called out. Ouch!  The sound of her own voice made her head woozy.

When silence greeted her she rose and the room tilted sideways.  With a slight stagger she made it into the adjoining room the boys shared.  Thaddeus was sitting in the chair next to the window sound asleep.  Joshua was not here.   Where could he be?  She looked at the pocket watch lying on the bedside table.  Eleven p.m.  Where would he go this time of night?  She walked to the window and pulled back the curtains.  The saloon.  She glanced at Thaddeus and knew he was out for a while.  She crept back to her room, donned her stockings and shoes and slipped silently out the door.

She approached the saloon doors with only slight trepidation.  She glanced nervously down the street in both directions.  Her mother would have been appalled to see her even standing in front of a saloon. But for some reason she didn't care what her mother would have thought.  It must be the wine in her veins, she decided.  Or perhaps her father's gambling blood in her veins was finally revealing itself.   She could hear the sounds of talking and laughter, and a twangy piano that was in bad need of tuning.  And she could smell the beer and whiskey.  Her heart was pounding as she dared to sneak a peek over the top of the heavy wooden bat wing doors.  Several tables were surrounded by men playing cards.  The twangy piano was in one corner, being played by a middle aged man, while a heavy set red head wearing a gaudy low cut dress attempted to sing along to "Beautiful Dreamer."   Several men stood at the bar drinking or ordering beer and whiskey.  And about half a dozen women in revealing dresses caroused about the room in search of any man who would take an interest.   An angry scowl washed over her face when she spotted the blond who'd spoken so rudely to her  and flirted so vulgarly with Joshua earlier that night.  She had herself draped all over some poor man, who obviously wasn't interested in her affections.  Hey,  he had a hat just like....her vision went green and then she saw red.

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks ago, Sally's invitation would have been too much for him to resist.  Especially after a week like the one he'd just had, but for some reason her invitation just didn't interest him.  Who was he kidding.  He knew the reason and  that reason was sleeping in room 202 of the Alpine Inn across the street.  Heyes turned himself slowly, intending to politely refuse Sally's invitation.  He turned just in time to see Sally spin on her heels to face the person who had just tapped her on the shoulder.  Then he saw the right hook that caught her in the jaw and sent her flying side ways onto the floor at his feet.  All eyes in the saloon came to rest on the young woman who stood there in the middle of the room wincing and shaking her hand in mid air.

"Evangeline!  What the.....where did you....why the devil....."

He stepped over Sally's prone body, now surrounded by her fellow lady's of the evening.  He took some paper bills from his pocket and threw them on the floor beside the stunned women.  “Sorry ladies, this is for your trouble.”   Then he took Evangeline by the arm and hurried her out of the saloon.  They almost ran into Kid as he came running up on the board walk in front of the saloon.

"I thought you were gonna watch her!"

"Sorry.  I dozed off for a few minutes and when I woke up she was gone.  What happened anyway?"

"Take a look inside and you'll see."

Kid took in the scene inside and was able to fill in the blanks without any help.  Evangeline had come into the saloon just in time to see Sally offering her "goods" to Heyes.   Obviously not liking what she saw, and being filled with drunken bravado she had  punched the girl right in the jaw.  She was out cold.   Kid turned to see Heyes examining Evangeline's bruised right knuckles.

"What were you doing in there?"  Heyes asked her angrily.

"I was looking for you,"  she slurred.

"Well, you don't ever go into a place like that again.  And you don't go  around slugging people in the face."

"She had herself draped all over you,"  she threw back.  "And besides she had it comin' for the way she talked to me earlier.  And the way she was flirtin' with you.  Of all the nerve..."

"Was that right hook something else your father taught you?"  He found a tender spot on her hand causing her to suck in her breath.  "Sorry.  Maybe that will teach you not to go around punching innocent ladies in the face."

Her mouth hung open in disbelieve.  He was defending that....that.... oh she wanted so badly to say that ugly word, but she didn't.  "Innocent lady?  You  mean you're going to stand here and lecture me about how to properly treat a...a.....tramp...like that."

"Heyes we better get back to the hotel before people start taking an unhealthy interest and start asking questions."

They hurried back to the hotel room.  Once inside Heyes sat her on the edge of the bed where he leaned with both hands on either side of her.  "What I'm going to lecture you on is not drawing unnecessary undesired attention to yourself.  When you draw attention to yourself, people get curious and start asking questions.  That's something two wanted men can't afford. You understand?  Now we'll have to leave town first thing in the morning instead of resting here for a few days."

Her remorse at her actions was written all over her face.   She slapped both hands across her mouth, her movements exaggerated due to her inebriated state.   "Oh, no.  I'm sorry.  I didn't realize.  I've ruined everything."  She looked like she was going to start crying.

He was immediately sorry he'd lectured her at all.  In her inebriated state she was far too emotional.  He should have waited until morning.  He was just about to tell her it was alright and no harm had been done when she began to heave.

"Kid get me the pot, quick!"

Kid came with the chamber pot just in time for her to lose her supper into it.  In minutes she was out again.   Heyes removed her shoes and washed her face with a cool cloth.

"She's got a lot to learn, Heyes,"  Kid said as he leaned against the door jam of Evie's room watching his partner tend to the beautiful young woman with tender care.

"Yeah,  I know."

"Did she really lay that girl out with a right hook?"

Heyes cracked a smile he'd been suppressing since he'd watched her slug Sally.  "She sure did."

The boys looked at each other and busted out laughing.

"Well,  I think maybe I'd better go on over there and see what I can do to improve our relations with those ladies.  Kinda smooth things over, if you know what I mean.  Maybe we won't have to leave in the morning after all.   Besides, I don't think she's gonna be up to traveling tomorrow.  I think there's a hangover in her immediate future."    He waved silently to his partner as he left the room to go across the street to the saloon.

Heyes sat on the edge of her bed for a long time, thinking.   Living on the lamb with wanted men required certain knowledge and skills.  Was it fair to ask her to live this kind of life?  Right now, there wasn't any other choice.  But she was a smart girl and she would catch on soon enough. Yes, she had a lot to learn.  But she was in luck. Hannibal Heyes was an excellent and all too willing teacher.