The cold, clear sunlight ricocheted off the red rock of the canyon walls blinding him with its clarity. He sat, shivering slightly, in one of the two old rockers on the porch of the leader's cabin. In his hand, he clutched a hot mug of coffee, brewed just the way he liked it. He took a satisfied sip, savored it for a moment, and squinted again at the sun just beginning its ascent. The valley floor was still in shadows and a heavy frost blanketed the ground. The day would be cold, but clear. The Kid pulled another gulp from his steaming mug.
They'd arrived late last night by the meager light of a crescent moon. Wheat and Kyle had led the way in as their horses knew the trail into Devil's Hole; Heyes's new gelding, and his own, did not. It had been an exhausting four-day ride from Golden, Colorado, to the hideout. Heyes had set a punishing pace the entire trip, often riding so far ahead that the Kid had become alarmed, especially as they had neared the Hole. It wasn't unusual for more enterprising bounty hunters and lawmen to frequent the area surrounding the hideout in hopes of stumbling across an outlaw or two; and there hadn't been anything the Kid could do to stop Heyes. The Kid knew all too well that he was nursing a battered heart and he trailed along behind his partner doing his best to cover his back. Heyes was licking his wounds and hadn't said much since they'd ridden through the gate of Second Chance Ranch. He had paused once, mid-way down the drive, for one last look at Allie Golden, and then he had turned away, dropping the smile he'd forced upon his face. The scowl that had replaced it had never wavered during the long, hard ride to Wyoming.
If he was honest with himself, the Kid wasn't feeling all that glad to be home either. He'd loved Allie, too, and had even thought for a short time that she might be the one for him. He remembered her slow, steady mutation from city girl to outlaw queen. Ironic, that he, one of the most successful outlaws the West had known, would prefer the quiet, charming city girl. He'd enjoyed the feeling of being part of a family, too. Heyes had been a slightly different story. He'd fallen hard for Allie Golden, not Alyssa Harcourt; the woman she'd been before she'd changed her name and ridden with the gang. Leaving her behind had hurt Heyes badly and he'd be a long time recovering. Selfishly, the Kid also worried about what that would mean for him and the other members of the gang.
Curry had peeked into his partner's room before setting the coffee pot to brew and Heyes had been soundly asleep, the comforter pulled up tight to his chin and his orange cat, Lucifer, curled up next to his chest, purring loudly. That scruffy tomcat had shown up while they were unpacking with a dead mouse in his mouth, somehow aware his human was back. He'd waltzed into the cabin, announcing his arrival around a mouthful of rodent, and dropped his tribute at Heyes's feet wagging his stump of a tail in welcome. Heyes had reached down to pat the cat's head in a distracted manner and continued emptying his saddlebags while the Kid swooped in to dispose of the tiny body. He hated having that damn feline in the cabin, he belonged outside with the other animals. Luce had completely ignored his disapproval and contently curled up in front of the blazing fireplace not moving until a silent Heyes had walked into his room for bed. A small, orange streak had squeezed through the doorway as it slammed shut.
The clang of the old, dented pot reached him through the cabin walls and he knew Heyes was awake. Sighing, he took another sip of his coffee. He felt the need to steel himself for his partner's appearance. He knew the man was struggling with his feelings. Just once, he wished Heyes would grieve like a normal man, but he wasn't like other men. He'd be nursing up this hurt, thinking on it, letting it grow until it manifested itself in some new, crazy scheme. The cabin door swung open and Heyes, along with Luce, stepped out. The cat ran down the steps and across the yard into the barn as Heyes watched him go.
"Morning," said the Kid eying his friend who looked rumpled and tired as he carried out a steaming mug and sat down across from him. Heyes sipped his hot drink making no comment on the coffee. That wasn't a good sign. As much as he hated Heyes's coffee, his partner felt the same about the milder brew he favored. Finally, his dark-haired cousin cleared his throat and spoke.
"I was thinking I'd ride into Belton today. Maybe take Preacher with me. He can fill me in on what still needs to be done for winter and I have a few things I want to pick up."
Curry waited; now that Heyes was talking, he wasn't about to plug the leak in the dam. He sipped his coffee knowing there was more to come.
"Snow's going to hit soon and I want to be ready. I've got a few ideas for some jobs I'd like to work out while the weather's bad."
Blue eyes shifted to brown. That hadn't taken too long; planning new jobs was a very good sign.
"I'm still dead, you know. I figure that opens up some opportunities." Heyes smiled slightly, the thought of thievery never failed to please him.
"You know, you could change your mind. Take Allie and go south; no one would be the wiser," offered the Kid.
The smile fell from his partner's face and he growled, "Why would I do that, Kid? I love her."
"Ain't that reason enough?"
"To take her away from the only family she knows? She'd have to disappear with me; never see them or even write to them again. There are just too many people who knew she was with me; that I'm alive. You think I could do that to her- to you?"
"To me?" Blue eyes widened.
Heyes looked down into his coffee mug. He hadn't meant for that last part to slip out and he answered very, very softly, "You're the only family I have, Kid. Do you want me to ride outta your life?"
"No, Heyes, I don't. But what I do want is for you to be happy. Can you do that without Allie?" He sure hoped so, because if his partner couldn't, there'd be hell to pay for the rest of them.
"I don't know, but I do know that we wouldn't be happy if I rob her of her family. Look, I'm done talking about it. I made the break and I'm not looking back." Heyes stood up and stepped off the porch, walking towards the storehouse, his shoulders slumping slightly.
OOOOOOOOOO
"I'm tellin' you, boys, Heyes is a changed man. He's been domesticated. That little gal led him around by his nose like a tamed bear," laughed Wheat.
"No, she didn't, Wheat. He would've stayed if that was true," said Kyle, frowning at his partner. He was tired of the insinuations that had been woven into the story of the past few weeks. As usual, Wheat hadn't missed any opportunities to undermine Heyes with the rest of the gang and had embellished his own role; going so far as to claim he'd had to "save Heyes's ass more'n once."
"Who's tellin' this story?" growled Wheat.
"You is and you ain't doing a good job of it neither; shame on you talkin' about Miss Allie like that. She's a special lady and you know it," Kyle spit a gob of chaw into the spittoon he had brought over to the table. He narrowed his eyes and stared hard at his partner, challenging him, then smiled slowly and said, "Why don't you boys ask ol' Wheat here, how Miss Allie scared the pants off him for fighting with Heyes or how he managed to git himself shot by the Kid while savin' ass?" A ripple of laughter slid around the room and across the faces of the rough outlaws gathered at the scarred old table of the bunkhouse. Wheat turned red and the men knew what Kyle said was true. Wheat wanted to lead the gang and they were all amused by his heavy-handed attempts to take Heyes down a notch, but they knew who kept the money in their pockets, the food on their table, and, more importantly, who was backed by Kid Curry.
"I ain't scared of no little slip of a gal like Miss Allie," blustered Wheat.
"Then you ain't smart enough to lead this gang," countered Kyle, grinning.
OOOOOOOOOO
During the ride into Belton, Heyes was aware of the Preacher watching him. He knew that Wheat would've told the boys the whole story, puffing up his own importance. Everything that had happened since he'd sent them back to the Hole after the debacle with Decker. Well, let him look. He wasn't answering questions and he sure as hell wasn't justifying himself to his men. He knew better than anyone that weakness was a fatal flaw in an outlaw leader; one he wouldn't allow.
By mid-afternoon, Heyes and Preacher had gathered their supplies with one exception. Leaving his man to pack the mule they had brought with them, Heyes walked up the street to re-enter the General Store. Mr. Perkins stood behind the counter and watched as his best customer came through the door again. The fine folks of Belton were quite fond of the Devil's Hole gang and treated them as honored guests.
It had been a shock when the news of Heyes's demise had hit the town. Economic panic had run through the town before the gang's next supply trip into Belton. Thank goodness, the Preacher had quickly spread the word that Heyes was alive and well. Perkins had even been giving serious consideration to selling his store and pulling up stakes for greener pastures. Besides the boys from the Hole, there wasn't much else keeping this place going. There weren't many residents left in this backwater dust bowl, and the ones that were still here were hanging on by a thread; none of them would do anything to hurt the mutually beneficial relationship with the outlaws. The temptation to try and collect the big rewards on Heyes and Curry was tempered by the knowledge that retribution by the gang would be swift. It was smarter and far safer to take the business thrown their way and welcome the outlaws into their town. Course, it helped that the closest sheriff was many miles away.
"Did you forget something, Heyes?" asked the tall, gangly man as the little bell over the door tinkled merrily.
"I did, Henry. Do you have a copy of next year's Farmer's Almanac?"
"Just got 'em in last week; you ain't plannin' to turn sodbuster on us, are you?" laughed Mr. Perkins loudly.
Heyes grinned. His folks had been sodbusters in Kansas and he knew, all too well, the hard work and grueling determination that went into trying eke out a living from the unforgiving earth. "Nope, I just wanted something to read over the winter. Matter of fact, if you have any of Twain's books, you can toss them in, too."
"I got a couple. Give me a minute to dig 'em out." The storekeeper disappeared into his back room and Heyes heard the sound of boxes being moved about. He leaned his back against the smooth oaken counter and glanced out the window. Preacher was riding up the street leading Heyes's gelding and the mule. Mr. Perkins came back carrying several books. "Here they are."
Heyes nodded and smiled. "I'll take them all."
"Let's see, that'll be a dollar fifty for the two books and two bits for the almanac."
"Fair enough," said Heyes, tossing three silver dollars on the counter, "Keep the change and have a good winter, Henry."
"You, too, Heyes."
The outlaw leader picked up the books and started out the door looking down at the title of the top one. 'The Innocents Abroad'. This caused a chuckle to float out of him. He'd enjoy reading this one. He hadn't been abroad yet and he'd sure as hell never been innocent.
OOOOOOOOOO
"I tell you he isn't right. The man didn't rub together two words the entire ride there and back. He's dreaming something up and I'll bet you a month of Sundays it's going to be risky," growled the Preacher while unpacking the mule in the Devil's Hole barn. Hank had come out in the cold dusk to help him carry in the supplies and had just lifted a bag of flour out of the panniers that straddled the pack mule. The normally placid Preacher had been both offended and worried by his leader's silence. It had put him in a bad mood, too, and made him more gossipy than normal.
The erroneous news of Heyes's death had shaken the outlaw gang and, before the telegram arrived assuring them that their leader was still alive, there'd been a lot of discussion on what would happen next. The gang had even gone so far as agreeing that they'd give Wheat a shot despite his arrogance. Once they knew Heyes was alive things had settled down again; until now. Now their leader showed all the signs of being in a temper and the gang knew that meant trouble for them. They'd been hoping for a break and time to spend some of the money they'd already stolen; not go looking for more.
Preacher complained on, "I thought we'd have a quiet winter. The man just pulled in more money in the last few months than the whole rest of the last year. Why's he looking for trouble and what's he planning?"
"I reckon we'll be the first to know," said Hank as he walked out of the barn. He was a man of little imagination and preferred to leave the speculating to others. Life was better that way.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Why'd you go and embarrass me like that in front of the men last night?" growled Wheat, still angry his partner would turn on him like he had. He and Kyle were butchering the side of beef Heyes had brought in. They were going to have a celebration tomorrow and cook a large roast. It was their job to salt the rest of the meat and hang it for the winter.
Kyle whacked the carcass hard with the meat cleaver he held, wedging it into the maple butcher block. He let go of the hilt and wiped his hands on the greasy towel hanging from his gun belt. "You were makin' a fool of yourself."
Wheat exploded, "Dammit, Kyle, what harm did it do if I embroidered a tad? You're my partner. You're supposed to watch my back!"
The smaller outlaw frowned at his friend and shook his head in annoyance. "I was watchin' your back. You keep shootin' off your mouth about Heyes and you're gonna git yourself killed. You already forget Heyes nearly shot you recently? Seems to me you were pushin' too hard then, too."
An involuntary shudder went through Wheat at the remembrance of facing down the barrel of Heyes's Schofield. He'd really thought he was a dead man. The look in his leader's eyes had told him he was, and, if it hadn't been for Kyle stepping in front of the gun, he'd be pushing up daisies right now. How had he forgotten that already? Kyle was right, he had to watch his big mouth, but he wasn't about to admit that. Not to his partner and definitely not to the other men.
"I ain't afraid of Heyes or the Kid. I ain't afraid of no man," blustered Wheat, putting his hands on his hips and silently daring Kyle to contradict him.
Kyle narrowed one eye and shot a wet missile of chaw at his partner's boot tips. "Good to know, partner. Guess I can have them words etched on your headstone right now. It'll save time later." He reached out and pried the cleaver from the wood, and started to butcher the meat again.
OOOOOOOOOO
Heyes was sitting by the fire with Luce curled up in his lap. He had the Farmer's Almanac opened and was holding it in one hand while grasping a glass of whiskey in the other and reading intently. Curry was sitting on the settee repairing a broken bridle and he began humming softly as he went about the task.
Dark eyes looked up at the source of the sound. He stared hard at the Kid hoping he'd get the message, but his partner sat with his head bent and kept humming an off-key, unintelligible tune. Heyes returned to his book, hoping it would distract him from his growing irritation. It didn't.
"Do you have to do that?" snarled Heyes.
"Do what?" The blond head rose. He knew the sound would provoke a response from Heyes. He was tired of the silent treatment.
"Hum like that. It's driving me crazy."
The Kid smiled slyly. It was the worst thing Heyes's could've said; he loved to drive his partner nuts. "I like to hum while I work; passes the time." He put his head back down and drew a deep breath so he could project the sound more loudly.
"Well, could you quit it? I'm trying to read here."
"You can still read while I hum, Heyes. Ain't no law against humming."
"There ought to be a law against you humming. You sound like a sick cow."
"No call for you to get proddy. All you gotta do is ask me nicely to stop."
"All right, would you please stop humming?" asked Heyes with a phony niceness.
"Sure."
The humming stopped and Heyes returned to his reading. Several long minutes passed and he began to relax. The Kid kept his head bent over his own work, but watched his partner covertly. He saw the tenseness go out of the other man's shoulders and he grinned slightly. One booted foot began to tap out a cadence and the shoulders snapped to attention again. The Farmer's Almanac flew past Curry's head, but he kept the beat in spite of having to duck sharply to the right.
"Kid!"
"Hey, relax. I was just twisting your tail a bit. You've been wound up a little too tight, you know."
Heyes ran both hands through his dark hair and stood with his hands on his hips glaring at his partner who studiously ignored him. Finally, he sighed and walked over to retrieve his book. "Sorry. I guess I am a little touchy."
"I'll say. What are you working on? Planning a garden?"
"Ha Ha. I'm working on our next job."
"With an almanac?"
"The weather's going to play a part in the next one, Kid. Remember, how quickly the snow covered our trail in the high country? Well, that got me thinking. We've been laying low in the winter, holing up against the snow like everyone else."
"Yeah, we've been doing the sensible thing, so?"
"So no one expects the Devil's Hole gang to start stealing in the dead of winter. It's the perfect time."
"Only if it's snowing hard," said the Kid logically.
"Right!"
"Last I heard, not even you could control the weather, Heyes."
"You're a real riot tonight, partner. I ain't trying to control it; I'm planning to be ready for it. That's a different thing."
"Why would you want to go robbing in the cold, Heyes? We've got plenty of money from that last job, not to mention we took half the loot on the Merchant's Bank job. That was real generous of you to give the boys the other half since you pretty much pulled that one by yourself."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Kid, 'cause I gave our half away."
"What?!" Curry stood so quickly the tack slid off his lap and onto the floor, the awl he had been using clattered to the wood floor.
"I gave it all to Monty. He's going to donate it, anonymously of course, to the first charity that steps up to fund Second Chance Ranch."
"Heyes….tell me you didn't." The Kid groaned and plopped back down on the settee.
"Oh, I did; and I'm giving more soon. That means I need to be planning the next job real fast."
"That's your plan? Start stealing more money than we need just so we can give it away? We pretty much do that anyway every time the boys go hurrahing."
"Look, I told Monty I wanted to help with the ranch, but Allie can't know I am. She'd never take the money. It's a real good cause, and you know as well as I do, it ain't going to be a real popular cause. Other people are kind of funny about scarlet ladies, but they've been awful good to us." Heyes smirked, "Especially good to you."
"You do know, don't you, that we've already got big price tags on our heads. What do you think the law's gonna do, if we start pulling more jobs?"
"They couldn't come after us any harder than they already are. Listen, the Bible tells us to help those less fortunate than us. I reckon this is where I'm going to start and I plan on giving to other worthy causes, too."
"You found God, Heyes?" said the Kid, sarcastically.
"Nope, but the Devil's found me and I'm hoping this'll stop him from getting his claws in me any deeper. Like I said before, it's not going to hurt our popularity with the common folk if we start spreading some of the money around where it can do some good. We won't take credit up front, but a few well-placed whispers and word will get out. Those dime novels make us out to be heroes. Children look up to us and it won't take much for the rest of the public to start seeing us in a different light. You should stop and think of how handy all that goodwill might be if we were to be caught and go to trial. The law'd be hard-pressed to put together a jury. Why, even some of those fine pillars of society might stand up and squawk if they saw their favorite charity's meal ticket about to get hung or sent away for twenty years." A wide, impish grin slipped onto Heyes face.
"Now you're starting to sound like my partner," said the Kid with an answering grin.