The Kid stared out of his hotel window,watching the pouring rain as it splashed down onto the already soaking street, as lightning lit the sky.
Despite being so tired he felt sick with it, he couldn't rest, his body still tensed in readiness for a fight and his mind overflowing with too many thoughts to allow him to sleep. He supposed this must be how Heyes felt so often. With that thought the pain spiked and he wondered whether he should have stayed with his partner till the end. The vision of Heyes' far too still form and the doctor's gloomy words swept across his mind and he shivered a little. As his emotions threatened to overflow, he pushed them down fiercely, he needed to be calm for when he confronted Loomis.
He checked his pants pockets and realised that despite the ridiculous prices in this town, he still had enough for a drink or two. Despite the tiredness and nausea, he figured that visiting the saloon would be less frustrating than staring fruitlessly at the rain until day broke.
XXX
The saloon was quieter than he expected, but he supposed it was late and though he didn't know exactly what day it was, he knew it wasn't yet the weekend.
He did briefly wonder, though with little concern, what he was projecting, because when he walked over to the bar and ordered a bottle, just stopping himself from indicating two glasses, the three men already there, looked at him nervously and headed to the opposite end of the bar, which was fine by him.
After pouring himself a drink, he stared at it for a moment, before moving his gaze to glare blankly at the wall behind the bar. Guilt at leaving Heyes nagged, but he thought his partner would've understood. If he'd waited, Lowell might well have got too far ahead of him to track easily. The Kid hadn't thought much beyond finding the murdering asshole and making him regret what he'd done, but he supposed things would become clearer once he found him.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned round, tensing for some kind of confrontation, but relaxed when he saw a pretty red head, in a painted on dress, looking at him kindly, her eyes surprisingly kind given what he assumed she was there for.
"Well, you're looking a mite lonely there cowboy."
Kid drank the whisky in one gulp, then looked at her, making an effort to cover his mood and be as pleasant as possible. "Not sure I'm fit for company, Miss."
Besides that, he wasn't certain he could afford her and that would be embarrassing and he feared what his mood would mean for his performance.
As if sensing his thoughts, she smiled at him and the Kid was struck at just how pretty she was. Her dark grey eyes were warm and as she slid her hand in a caressing gesture down his arm, he found himself tempted. "We have a mid week special, dollar fifty for two hours. I think I might be able to relieve some of that tension you're feeling." She leant into him, her breath blowing in his ear and said softly. "I can do most of the work if that's what you want."
The Kid wavered for a minute or two, but welcoming the opportunity to drown out his thoughts and memories even for a short time nodded his agreement. He thought that sounded surprisingly reasonable, even cheap considering the price of things in this town, and he was never one to turn down a good deal, so handed her the money. She smiled tucked it in her dress and indicated he should follow her.
The room they entered at the top of stairs, wasn't flashy but was comfortable. She slipped out of her dress and laid on the bed, the lamplight illuminating her pale skin and making her hair sparkle. The Kid swallowed hard, it'd been a while. He undressed quickly and joined her on the bed and didn't think of anything much at all for quite some time.
It was only as she lay next to him afterwards, her head on his chest, that he thought to ask her name and she laughed, a husky warm sound. "Laura, but you can call me anything you like!"
The Kid laughed and kissed her before saying. "Laura is a real pretty name, think I'll stick with that."
She didn't question that he didn't offer his name in reply, only eyed him sympathetically. "You looked like you'd got the weight of the world on your shoulders, didn't seem right, for a handsome cowboy to be drinking alone."
Her words brought everything crashing back to him and he swallowed hard ,pulling away slightly, suddenly guilty, but her eyes were warm and feeling the need to tell someone, blurted out. "Missing a friend, Laura, and wondering what to do next."
"You want to talk about it? We got some time to spare."
The Kid was tempted, still feeling lonely and wondering if talking about it would help give him some idea as to what exactly he wanted. But because he knew too well what the likely outcome of the confrontation would be, caution held his tongue and he shook his head reluctantly as he said. "I'd like to Laura. But ain't sure it's exactly wise." Then with a wink, eager to distract her, he added. "Besides, maybe there's better ways than talkin' to relieve my mind." Least for a little while, he added silently.
XXX
The Kid returned to his hotel a couple of hours before dawn and was quickly asleep. Though dreams made him restless, when he woke four hours later he felt a little better. He rubbed his face and looked down at the street, relieved to find that the rain had retreated to a mere sprinkling. He'd be able to ride out in no time.
XXX
The rain hadn't been too heavy in the sheltered valley, so Heyes had stayed dry and even managed a decent amount of sleep under his rocky cover and woke feeling better, though his head still hurt some, but he felt up to riding.
He knew he'd have to go at a slower pace, then he was really happy with, but hoped doing so, would prevent him needing to stop again and give him a better chance of reaching his partner in time.
As he packed up his camp he grumbled under his breath at his absent partner. "You know, Kid, me and you are gonna have to chat 'bout patience when I finally catch up with ya."