The Reunion
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Everybody in the wagon?" Kid asked, turning to look over his shoulder where three year old Harper and Kid's partner Heyes, along with his lady friend of the past six months, all sat among an array of suitcases, blankets, a bag of toys and a change of clothes for Harper, not to mention a picnic basket for an early afternoon lunch and exercise break.
"I think we're all good to go, Kid," Heyes replied.
Kid turned to Deidre, sitting next to him in the driver's seat. "How about you, darlin'?"
Deidre smiled, looped one arm with her husbands' and rested her free hand on her slightly protruding belly. "Eager to see a real outlaw's camp," she replied.
"Won't look like it did when Heyes and me lived there," Kid told her.
"But I ain't gonna know that, unless you feel the need to point those things out to me, which I would prefer you not do."
"Some things might be pretty obvious," Kid told her as he gave the reins a shake. "No outlaw camp ever had it's own tavern or sported any lace curtains on the windows, not to mention fancy bedspreds and clean towels."
"Are we gonna get to stay in your old room?"
Kid laughed. "Don't think so darlin. Think that belongs to one of the owners now."
"You take a lot of women up there, Jed?" Deidre asked.
"Not a one, darlin. We had a rule about no women being allowed. In fact, the one time Heyes did take a woman up there, one of our boys nearly got killed."
Heyes made a quick explanation to his companion. "It's not what you're thinking Hannah. I was merely the escort, so she wouldn't get shot riding into the compound is all it was."
Hanna sat opposite Heyes and bounced Harper in her lap. "Oh, I believe you, Heyes. I doubt you'd be so forthcoming if it involved anything else" she said, raising her eyes and giving him a flirtatious smile.
"Did Wheat tell you who's all coming?" Kid asked.
"His letter only listed Preacher and Lobo, but he said he hadn't heard back from a few others."
"They got room enough to accommodate everybody? Some of them boys is likely married or sporting a woman by now," Kid replied.
"Sporting a woman?" Deidre asked. "How vulgar."
"Might be vulgar but that's exactly what you call it. They're only together for a matter of pleasurable convenience," Kid replied.
"Wheat said they've added a few cabins so I figure families will stay in them and anyone who's single will stay in the bunkhouse rooms or out in the barn," Heyes said, trying to get the conversation back on subject.
"Buck-house," Harper squealed with delight.
Kid laughed. "Doubt they've built one of them yet, but you never know," he replied. "Maybe even hired a couple of bucker-ettes," he said with a laugh.
Deidre gave Kid's shoulder a strong nudge. "Don't be talking like that in front of your son. We want him to grow up being respectful," she scolded.
"A person can be respectful while still knowing the ways of the world," Kid reminded her.
"Wheat says the business is booming," Heyes pipped up to again diplomatically change the subject. "I never will understand that romance mentality that peaks people's interest in the famous or the notorious."
"Ain't no different than the way you think of that Mark Twain fella, Heyes. I seen you get all flustered and giddy that time Soapy got us tickets to his lecture in San Francisco."
"You've actually met Mark Twain?" Hannah asked, suddenly quite wide-eyed and impressed with the newfound information.
Heyes nodded. "Kid here told him his alias was way too obvious, and a name people would likely remember even more than Samuel Clemens. I guess he turned out to be right, too."
They continued on throughout the morning, engaging in small talk and idle conversations. By noon, the heat of the day was becoming quite evident.
"There's a good spot about five miles ahead to stop for lunch," Kid announced to everyone. "How's Harper doing? He can sit up here with Dee and me if you're needing a break."
"Daddy!" Harper squealed and raised both arms out toward Kid.
"Heyes, you mind?" Kid asked and Heyes scooped the child up and settled him in the seat between Kid and Deidre.
Kid handed Deidre the reins, then lifted the child into his lap. Taking control of the reins once again, Kid placed one of the loose ends of the leather straps in Harper's chubby fingers. "You remember how to hold this?" Kid asked.
It took the child a minute of careful concentration and awkward hand dexterity, but he managed to slip the leather correctly between his fingers. Kid smiled proudly. "That's very good, Tadpole," he told his son. "You'll be driving this wagon in no time."
"Don't be giving him any ideas," Deidre cautioned.
"My pa use to do that with me at that age. Made me feel right important," Kid told her.
Deidre smiled, knowing how much Kid cherished what few memories he had of his parents.
They reached the spot for the picnic and Kid pulled the wagon well off the road and drew the horses to a stop near a small clump of trees and a gently flowing stream. He tied the reins off on the wagon's break, moved Harper back down onto the seat, then climbed down and walked to the other side of the wagon to help Dee and Harper down. Heyes moved to the back of the wagon and opened the back end. After helping Hannah out of the wagon, Heyes grabbed the picnic basket and they all headed over near the edge of the trees for some fried chicken and lemonade.
After their brief reprieve from the wagon, and a quick trip down to the stream to wash their hands, Kid led Harper off behind a bush to tend to nature before everyone clamored back into the wagon to continue on their way.
Harper curled up in some blankets in the back of the wagon and slept for a couple of hours. By late afternoon, they arrived at the path leading to the former outlaw camp and Kid pulled the horses to a standstill.
"Hey, look at that. They actually have a nice entrance sign now," Heyes said, pointing to a large sign in which the letters of each word had been expertly carved and painted.
"Changed the name of the place, too," Kid added before reading the sign aloud. "Welcome to Devil's Hole Tavern and Inn."
"Who would have ever guessed that Wheat and Kyle had entrepreneur skills," Heyes mused.
"Who'd have ever thought Kyle had any skills, except with dynamite of course," Kid added before making a sound with his tongue and shaking the reins to urge the horses along the path.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Kid and Heyes were both quite impressed with the improvements that had been made in their three year absence. The leader's cabin had a fresh coat of pain, as had the expanding bunkhouse. The patched barn roof had been completely replaced, and four small private cabins had been built nestled into the woods behind the compound.
Kid uttered a whistle. "No wonder you ain't see so much as a red cent on your investment, Heyes."
Heyes didn't grumble as he was genuinely impressed with the overall appearance.
Kid brought the wagon to a stop outside the bunkhouse, but before he could even climb down from the seat, Kyle emerged from the bunkhouse and hurried down the now cobblestone walk.
"A'fore you start unloading everything, we got you two registered to cabins three and four," Kyle explained. "They're around the back in the woods a bit."
"Cabins three and four? They ain't numbered 303 and 304?" Kid asked with a grin.
Kyle's face looked blank, then slightly confused as he tried to reason the question. "We ain't got but them four cabins, Kid," he explained.
"Not to worry, Kyle," Heyes hastily interrupted. "We'll find the right ones. Anyone else arrived yet?"
"Lobo and Preacher is both inside and they're the only ones not dead or incarcerated, except the two of you, of course."
"You mean Merkle and Matt are in jail?" Kid asked.
Kyle nodded. "And Jim's there for life now, or so I've heard. And of course Henry and Charlie's both dead."
"Well, we'll go get settled in and meet you back here at the bunkhouse in, say an hour," Heyes told him.
Kid drove the wagon around to the back and parked it between cabins three and four.
"They must have given Lobo and Preacher the other two cabins," Heyes said as they all clamored out of the wagon.
Kid helped Deidre climb down, then reached in the back and hoisted Harper out and raised him high into the air before gently landing him on the ground. The child laughed and giggled and raised his outstretched arms toward his Pa, begging for another flight above his father's head. But Kid reached into the wagon and grabbed a folded blanket. "You carry this inside to help your Ma," he told the boy. "Heyes, when you and Hanna get settled, come on over here and we'll head up to the bunkhouse."
"Sure. Be over in about an hour," Heyes told him as he gathered his and Hannah's belongings."
Kid carried their things into the cabin while Deidre took Harper's hand and walked inside with him.
"This is real nice," Deidre said of the one room structure that contained a stove, a small sink without a water pump, a table and one large bed with a trundle bed that could be pulled out to accommodate a third person, or even as much as two children.
"I wonder where they got all the money for this," Kid mused. "Surely they don't draw that kind of business."
"Well, since you ain't invested in this place like Heyes has, why would you really care?" Dee asked him.
Kid nodded. "Just curious."
Deidre smiled. "You're afraid Wheat and Kyle are more prosperous than you," she concluded aloud.
"Now that just plain ain't true."
"Is Kid Curry jealous?"
"You're about to cross a fine line here, Deidre," Kid warned.
"Alright, I'm sorry... Maybe they are still being outlaws. Maybe they're stealing from the guests."
Kid shook his head. "Too easy to get caught doing that. But there has to be some reason."
Just over an hour later Heyes and Hannah knocked on the cabin door.
"It's open," Kid called to themselves
"If you all don't mind, I think Harper and me will take a rain check on tonight," Deidre said. "I'm just plum worn out from that ride today."
"If you'd like, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Harper so you can get some rest," Hannah offered. "The truth is, it doesn't sound like a very interesting evening to me either. I mean a bunch of men drinking and figuring out how to pull a safe out of twenty feet of water..."
"Bet you'll be whistling a different tune when it comes time to spend our eight thousand dollars," Heyes said. "But you're right about the evening. You ladies likely wouldn't find it too interesting."
"Do you mind, Jed?" Deidre asked.
Kid shook his head. "Of course not, darlin, and I won't be making a late night of it myself. I think the trip tired me out a bit, too."
Kid and Heyes were no sooner out the door than Deidre turned to Hannah and laughed. "I'm not really especially tired. I just didn't want to sit in a smoke filled room listening to a bunch of former outlaws brag about how good they were and trying to convince each other that pulling that safe out of that pond is actually a good idea. Would you like some tea?"
Hannah laughed. "I like the way you think, Dee, and yes, that sounds wonderful."
They took their tea out on the narrow porch of the cabin and sat on the edge with their feet on the ground while Harper played in a pile of dirt a few feet away.
"Deidre, were you at all concerned about marrying a former outlaw? I mean one who had such a wide-spread reputation?"
Deidre paused a moment and looked at Hannah. "Has he asked you, yet?"
Hannah shook her head. "But I think it's coming one day soon."
Deidre had suspected as much. After all Hannah and Heyes were sharing a cabin.
"By the time Jed asked me to marry him, I was so head over heels in love with him that I think he could have been the Devil himself and I would have said yes," she told Hannah. "I really didn't think much about his reputation and, to tell you the truth, it hasn't shown it's ugly face much. Oh sure, people recognize him, want to talk to him, maybe hope he'll teach em to fast draw but, nothing any worse than that. Jed knows real well how to offset trouble."
"So it's never really been a problem?"
"Well, he actually got shot on our honeymoon, but it weren't because he was recognized. It was just cause the train we was on got robbed... You know what you're going to tell Heyes when he asks?"
Hannah sighed. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
"He's a good man, but you hafta understand you won't ever be the only person in his life. Him and Jed have been through so much together that there's a bond between them that's tighter than brothers. It ain't a sexual thing, but it is intimate. Them two can read each other thoughts."
"Does that bother you?" Hannah asked.
"No. Heyes just understands he don't get Jed without me. I think Jed understands the same when Heyes marries. Do you love him?"
Hannah nodded and smiled. "Yeah."
Deidre reached over and laid a hand on Hanna's arm. "Hannah, that's all that really matters."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Kid and Heyes walked into the bunkhouse. But before heading to the tavern room to join the former gang, both stopped dead in their tracks and took slow, sweeping gazes around the newly remodeled bunkhouse, that now looked nothing like a bunkhouse. The interior still maintained a rustic look, with knotted pine walls and large pillars that created the appearance of divided areas for dining and lounging without losing the spacious, open feel of the room. Along the front wall was the desk area and the hallway leading to the guest rooms was nothing short of stately with textured wall paper and pine molding.
Rowdy laughter coming from the tavern broke their awestruck trance, but their very surprised expressions remained as they exchanged glances, then shrugged and headed for the tavern.
Hand shakes and slaps on the back were shared by all, and Wheat and Kyle made sure the whiskey was free flowing.
"Wheat, how did you manage to do all this?" Heyes shouted above the noise of conversations and the player piano.
"Just took your advice, Heyes," Wheat shouted in return. "We found us some investors."
"In the form of Washingtons and Jeffersons," Kyle added but caught the stern look Wheat shot him, and he visibly wilted and grew silent.
As the evening progressed and everyone had caught up on the lives of the others, the subject turned to the real reason they had all agreed to attend this reunion.
"I'm afraid I got some bad news for you boys," Wheat said after clinking his glass with a spoon to gain everyone's attention.
Heyes and Curry stood at the bar while Kyle, Lobo, and Preacher shared a table and Wheat stood somewhere between the two groups.
"What kind of bad news?" Preacher asked.
"Well, Kyle and me made it a point to find out as much as we could about that safe..."
"And?" Kid asked.
Wheat visibly squirmed as he glanced at Kyle, then cleared his voice nervously before proceeding. "It seems Wyoming don't got no statute of limitations. That safe and that money is still considered stolen and anyone who's finds it...well, they'd be considered a thief and be arrested if they don't turn it over to the law."
"Hafta get caught first," Lobo exclaimed loudly.
"Oh, well... best count me out fellas," Kid said. "I ain't exposing my son to the outlaw life."
"That's just one less person to hafta split the money with," Preacher exclaimed. "I say we still do it."
"Guess you'll have to count me out, too," Heyes said, looking at Kid in total agreement. "Kid and me worked too hard and too long for those amnesties to go and throw it all away."
Wheat looked at Kyle who suddenly stopped chewing his wad of tobacco and nervously shifted in his chair. "I think I gotta go along with Heyes and the Kid," he said, then looked at Wheat to see if he had played his part well.
"Well now, I don't see as how just three of us can pull that thing outta the water," Wheat said. "So I think I'm gonna vote no on that, too."
"Wish you'd told us all this before we wasted the better part of a week coming here," Preacher said with some disgust.
With this disappointing information, the conversations soon wilted and even the desire for the alcohol began to wane. The party broke up early as everyone headed for their rooms or their cabins.
"Heyes," Kid said as they walked together toward the cabins. "Don't this all seem a little odd to you?"
"Don't what seem odd?"
"Well, first of all, everything that's been done to upgrade this place. That had to take a chunk of money to do."
"Uh-uh."
"And second of all, Wheat suddenly not wanting us all to go looking for that safe."
"What are you suggesting Kid, that Wheat already got his hands on that safe?"
"Well where else is he gonna get the money to do all that they've done to this place?"
"And Kyle did mention Washingtons and Jeffersons."
"I think them two might be trying to chump all the rest of us, Heyes."
As they neared the cabins, Heyes stopped walking. "You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you might be on to something, Kid."
"So, what are we gonna do about it?"
"I don't know...yet. Let me sleep on it."
"Think we ought to tell Preacher and Lobo what we think?"
Heyes shook his head. "No, not yet anyway. We gotta be sure first."
"How we gonna be sure?"
"I gotta sleep on that, too."
"You and Hannah come over early in the morning Heyes. We'll talk over coffee before we join the others for breakfast."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Kid walked into the cabin and smiled that Deidre had left a lamp burning low, but with enough light to see. He glanced over at the bed and saw Dee curled up on her side and Harper sleeping soundly beside her. She looked up and smiled, but placed one finger over her mouth to remind Kid to move about quietly.
Kid undressed to his long johns and slipped into the bed with Harper now sandwiched between them. "I can pull the trundle bed out for him if you want," Kid whispered.
Deidre shrugged. "I don't mind if you don't mind. He's sleeping so peacefully, I hate to disturb him."
Kid nodded his understanding.
"How was your evening?" Dee asked.
"It's a long story and I'll tell you about it in the morning. We ain't going after that safe, though. Or at least Heyes and me ain't. I doubt if anybody is."
"Why not?"
"Think it's already been found."
"Well, I can't say that disappoints me. I think going after that money sounds dangerous."
Kid sat up enough to lean his head over Harper and he kissed Deidre goodnight. "I'll tell you everything in the morning. Oh, Heyes and Hannah are coming over early tomorrow to give us all a chance to talk and decide what to do next."
"Next? Jed is this actually some sort of a problem?"
Kid sighed heavily. "Lemme get Harper into the trundle bed, then I'll tell you what we know and what we just suspicion at the moment."
With Harper now tucked into his own bed, Kid and Deidre lay away for over an hour while Kid told her the whole story.
"So why can't we just walk away, have nothing more to do with the whole situation?"
"We could," Kid replied. "And we most likely should."
"But you're not going to do that, are you?"
"We ain't gonna do nothing that would put you or Harper or Hannah in any danger, if that's what you're thinking."
"That's not what I'm thinking. I'm more concerned about you and Heyes being in some kind of danger."
Kid smiled and rested his hand on Deidre's belly. "I'm not gonna risk everything, everyone that's important to me, Dee. Money don't compare to what I got now."
"So we likely won't be staying here very long?"
"I can't say for certain just yet, but I doubt it."
"Oh, Hannah thinks Heyes is going to propose soon."
Kid's eyebrows raised. "He ain't mentioned it to me."
"Well I don't think she's expecting it tomorrow or nothing but..."
Kid chuckled. "But you want me to feel him out?"
"Well, if he's just stringing her along..."
"Let's take care of one problem at a time, Dee."
"But you'll talk to him sometime?"
"Yes, darlin'. Sometime."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Heyes and Hanna arrived at Kid's cabin a little before seven in the morning. Deidre, expecting a long discussion, had made a large pot of coffee, and she and Kid sat on one side of the table while Heyes and Hannah sat on the other.
"You come up with anything yet, Heyes?" Kid asked.
"Maybe came up with a couple of things. What was the name of that reporter that came here the last time we all got together?"
"Ah, Thorton," Kid replied. "You want him to write a story, and expose Wheat and Kyle?" Kid asked, somewhat surprised that Heyes would take the issue that far. "Heyes, that could get Wheat and Kyle arrested, maybe even sent to prison. You'd be willing to do that to them?"
"No, but I'd be willing to make them think I would. Kid, if they did take that money and someone was to be able to prove that, even twenty years from now, they would still be arrested and likely sent to prison. I don't think we want to see that happen."
"What if we're wrong, Heyes? What if they really did find some high spending investors for this place?"
"I'm hoping we are wrong. And if they did find some investors, well, maybe they'd be willing to just buy me straight out. That wouldn't involve a lot of money and they could go about their business like they've been doing."
"We're gonna haft to get Wheat and Kyle off somewhere alone to have this talk," Kid said.
"Uh-uh. Once we're all in the bunkhouse, maybe right after breakfast, you and me will invite Wheat and Kyle back here, where it's private."
"Are you two certain this isn't dangerous?" Deidre asked. "We've got Harper and the baby to think of."
"Dee, it ain't gonna get dangerous," Kid assured her.
"Kid's right. The worst that's gonna happen is we all leave here empty handed, likely never to see the gang again," Heyes added.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Tables had been pushed together so everyone could sit in the company of the others. Kid and Deidre sat Harper between them so they could both help if the need arose.
"Me and Lobo got talking last night and we think we might take a six or eight horse hitch up to the lake and try to dredge up that safe after all," Preacher said with a glint of adventure in his eyes.
"Preacher, you heard Wheat, there's no statute of limitations on that safe. You don't want to become wanted men again," Heyes replied.
"I guess you don't know it Heyes, but Preacher and me still is wanted," Lobo said. "Oh, not in Wyoming, but neither one of us can cross the line into Montana."
"Boys, if you ask me, the ship on that money has sailed," Kid added.
"Why do you think that, Kid? Only ones that know about that money is the gang," Preacher said.
"The gang, and the thirty man posse that was after us that day. Them boys all went home and told their wives and girlfriends, likely filled the saloons with that story every Saturday night for a month. I'm just guessing it ain't the secret you think it is. Maybe even one or two of us even went up there," Kid said as he cut a flapjack into small pieces for Harper.
"You saying the two of your went back to pull it outta the water?" Lobo asked.
Kid smiled but shook his head. "Even Heyes and me weren't that stupid."
"You fellas all getting enough to eat?" Wheat said with a smile as he sat down to join the group over a cup of coffee.
"Think we're all getting' plenty," Kid replied. "Use your fork, not your fingers, Tadpole," he told his son.
"Wheat, we was wondering if Kid and me could have a word with you and Kyle after breakfast," Heyes told him.
"What's the matter Kid, you decided you want in on this lucrative business venture?" Wheat asked.
Kid smiled, but kept his eyes focused on his son and did not reply.
"Well sure, Heyes..." Wheat began, before Heyes cut him off.
"In Kid's cabin."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"So what is so all fired important?" Wheat asked as he and Kyle walked into the cabin where Kid and Heyes had been waiting.
"I think we need to have a talk," Kid replied.
Wheat nodded and looked from Kid to Heyes. "Talk about what?"
Heyes offered a friendly smile. "Well, we've noticed the two of you have made an awful lot of changes around here...expensive changes."
Wheat studied Heyes for a moment. "Oh, I get it. You're worried about the money you've invested in this."
"No," Heyes replied. "I know where that money came from. I'm worried about the money that I don't know how you got."
"We think you two dug up that safe," Kid said with a steady, knowing voice.
"What!" Wheat and Kyle said in unison.
"What do you think we are, a couple of damn fools?" Wheat shouted angrily.
Heyes was taken aback and glanced at Kid nervously.
"It just so happens we brung in a couple of very wealthy investors," Wheat told them, stuffing his hands in his back pockets and thrusting his chest out in a proud fashion.
"In fact, you two even know one of em," Kyle replied innocently.
"Who?" Heyes and Kid asked simultaneously.
Suddenly feeling quite nervous, Kyle glanced at Wheat, then shuffled his feet and studied the floor. "Big Mac McCreedy," he said quietly.
"How did you get Big Mac to separate himself from a dollar?" Heyes asked.
"Well, I remembered that time me and some of the boys helped you kidnap that woman down in Mexico. I seen that wad of money he had in his wallet," Kyle explained.
"You stole money from Big Mac?" Kid asked, his eyes squeezed and his nose pinched.
"No, of course not, Kid," Kyle replied. "Wheat and me got all spruced up and we rode down to Red Rock."
"And he just handed you money?" Heyes asked.
"We told him who we were and what we was trying to do," Wheat replied. "He said he'd hafta see the place first. So... him and his wife made a trip up here and spent a few days as our guests."
"And he decided to invest?" Kid asked.
Kyle nodded earnestly while Wheat spoke.
"He agreed...with a couple of conditions..."
"What kind of conditions?" Hyes asked.
"Well, the cabin that Preacher is staying in is the honeymoon cabin, or at least it is now, at McCreedy's request."
"It's even got indoor plumbing," Kyle said proudly.
"I don't understand," Heyes told them.
Wheat sighed heavily. "McCreedy agreed to invest if we would place a portrait of his wife in the honeymoon cabin..."
Kid burst out laughing. "Well that takes the romance outta the honeymoon," he chuckled.
"That's it?" Heyes asked Wheat while giving Kid an admonishing glare.
"Well... No... There's one other thing we gotta do," Wheat said hesitantly.
"And what's that?"
"He a... He wants a life size marble stature of somebody called Caesar to be placed at the entrance of the tavern," Wheat said sheepishly.
Kid covered his mouth with the palm of his hand and looked toward the floor, trying to keep from laughing a second time.
"Trouble is, we don't know who this See-Zar is," Kyle added. "And a dozen marbles is only eight cents, but to build a life size statue of someone is gonna take thousands of marbles," he added with obvious bewilderment.
Heyes suddenly found himself speechless, unable to shake the image of a life size statue made of aggies, ades, cat's eyes, and red devils. "I... I don't think he's talking about the kind of marbles a child plays with, Kyle," he stuttered.
Kyle didn't answer. He just looked at Heyes with total bewilderment.
Heyes shook his head to clear his thoughts, then turned his attention back to Wheat. "Who's your other investor?"
Again Wheat cleared his voice nervously. "Mrs. McCreedy's brother. Apparently he's some rich rancher in Mexico. We ain't met him, but Mrs. McCreedy assured us he'd contribute...and he has."
"Oh Lord, Heyes, you'd better get yourself outta this business," Kid advised his partner.
"So...so you didn't dredge up that safe?" Heyes asked
"Heyes, like I told you last night, there ain't no statute of limitations on that safe. If we was to drag that safe outta the water and not turn in the money, we'd end up spending a very long time in prison," Wheat told him.
Heyes looked at Kid who gave him a defeated shrug.
"Alright boys, we believe you. I gotta admit, you had us worried though."
"Heyes, you ain't got that much invested. I can pay you back in cash before you leave iffin you want out," Wheat told him.
Heyes nodded. The last thing he wanted was to be involved in another project that included Big Mac and Armendariz. "I'd appreciate that, Wheat."
"Heyes," Kyle began timidly. "You think you might be able to help us find that statue? The Sears and Roebuck catalog don't got any statues even listed."
"I'll make some inquiries for you, Kyle. Maybe some of the art dealers in San Francisco might be able to help you out."
0-0-0-0-0-0
As the four men returned to the bunkhouse, they saw that Preacher and Lobo had saddled enough horses for everyone to take a leisurely ride along the path in the woods behind the compound. Kid glanced at Deidre and could see she was not enthused about participating. Kid walked over to her and picked up Harper and walked over to Heyes who had already climbed onto his saddle. Kid hoisted Harper up to Heyes.
"I think Deidre is still a little tired and we don't let Harper ride alone yet. Would you mind, Heyes?"
Heyes lifted the boy into the saddle and smiled. "You ready to ride like a cowboy, Harper?" he asked as he carefully adjusted the boy directly in front of him in the saddle.
Kid stepped back, then walked over to join Deidre and they watched all the others slowly ride off.
"You wantin' to lie down, darlin'?"
Deidre smiled but shook her head.
"Well, looks like a couple of nice rockin' chairs up on the porch," Kid said and pointed to the leaders cabin.
"Looks inviting," she replied.
Each wrapped an arm about the other's lower back and they strolled slowly up the path to the leaders cabin.
"Heyes and me use to sit out here almost every evening, smoking a cigar, drinking a glass of whiskey, and planning some new great adventure," he told her as they both rocked slowly in the chairs.
"I'm guessing most of those plans didn't end up like that safe in the middle of that pond?" she mused.
Kid smiled. "No, but if it weren't for that safe being where it ended up, you and me might not be sitting here talking about it today. The day that all happened was the day Heyes and me decided to try for that amnesty."
"Well, I guess every cloud has a silver lining after all," she replied.
Kid smiled. "And not every pot of gold is worth chasing the rainbow. Like I've told you before, darlin', I got all the riches I'll ever want with you, Harper, and this little one on the way."
"We heading home in the morning?"
"Uh-uh. Don't see no reason to stay any longer. Heck, every one of us has sort of chosen our own path. Even the hideout has changed. We ain't a gang no more, Dee. We're just a few men with a common past."
"Are you sad about that?" she asked.
Kid chuckled. "No darlin'. I got a whole lot brighter future than I ever had in the past."
0-0-0-0-0-0
The next day, after loading the wagon for the return trip home, Deidre was rather insistent that Kid and Heyes share the driver's seat while she, Hannah, and Harper rode in the back of the wagon. Deidre was careful to situate herself against the back of the wagon near the driver's seat, hoping Jed had enough sense to prod Heyes about his romantic intentions.
After traveling for about an hour, Kid gave a quick glance at Deidre in the back of the wagon and she give him an encouraging nod of her head. What neither knew was that Heyes had seen the silent communication.
"Heyes," Kid said quietly and almost reluctantly. "You don't hafta tell me if you don't want to..."
"If I don't want to, does that mean you'll be sleeping in the barn?"
Kid laughed. "Likely for quite some time," he confessed.
"So are you the go between for the go between?"
"You know how women are. Dee ain't gonna come right out and ask you."
"She's gonna make you do it," Heyes replied.
Kid nodded.
Heyes turned his attention to the road that lay ahead, but he continued talking in a low voice to his partner. "We could have a little fun with this, you know."
Kid ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. "We could," he said with a nod. "But I suspect that will only lead to a longer barn sentence for me."
Heyes sighed. "Alright, when you report back to the pants in your family, you be sure to tell her that if I suspect Hannah even gets wind of this, I'll call it all off."
Kid looked at him with an expression of surprise. "Would you?"
"Of course not. But I want it to came as one of them special moments that women love so much."
"So you are gonna ask her?"
"Uh-uh. After I talk to her Pa, of course."
"How soon?"
Heyes sighed. "I don't get no privacy, do I?"
Kid smiled. "Welcome to the married life. Now how soon?"
"Soon as we get back."
Kid nodded. "That should be enough information to appease her. Thanks, Heyes."
"Oh think nothing of it. What's a little privacy in a man's life?"
0-0-0-0-0
Author's note: Thank you to Tres Amigas for the list of gang members