It was well after lunch when Hannibal Heyes finally finished the mornings' ranch work. He ran his right hand across his sweaty face being careful not to spill the coffee he carried in his left as he walked slowly to the corral. Leaning his arms on the fence and raising one foot to rest on the bottom rail he slowly sipped his coffee as he proudly looked out over the small herd of horses. The Kid had left a few days ago to deliver a couple of mares…their first sale of horses from their ranch. He eyed several of the mares that would be dropping foals in the spring knowing they would definitely need to hire on an extra hand or two before then.
He stood resting against the fence lost in thought. He still had a hard time believing all the things that had happened to the two of them since they had received their amnesty nearly five years ago. Of course it had taken four years instead of the original one thanks to the endless parade of governors, but they had stuck to it and had, by unspoken agreement, decided to remain partners even after receiving it. At first they had been unsure of what they wanted to do, they had been on the run for so long that it was hard to even imagine settling down in one spot. They had continued their nomadic ways for a couple years, traveling and working whatever jobs they could get, deciding to save what money they could in the hopes of finding somewhere to settle. Heyes' substantial poker winnings contributed steadily to their savings as well. It had been the Kids' suggestion to settle down on a small ranch just outside the town of Rock Springs and he had readily agreed. They were familiar with several of the townsfolk having holed up here when the Kid had been wounded by a bounty hunter. In fact the sheriff had known exactly who they were, but the Kid had saved his daughter some years back and they had been welcomed here. So they had bought this ranch three years ago and quickly settled in, breeding and raising horses. Heyes sighed happily as he thought of the twin boys, one of which had been named after the Kid, who thought of them as Uncle Heyes and Uncle Jed. He shook his head; yes a lot of good things had happened the past few years since they had gotten both the amnesty and this ranch. They had worked hard and the ranch was finally starting to show a bit of a profit this year. The biggest problem they'd had was coming up with a name for their ranch. He snorted a laugh as he thought back remembering…..
"How about Heyes and Curry Ranch?"
Kid rolled his eyes, "Should be Curry and Heyes Ranch…C comes before H."
"But I'm older." Heyes reasoned.
Kid glared at him "CH Ranch?"
"HC Ranch."
They had stood hands on their hips glaring at each other as their tempers began to flare.
"Maybe we shouldn't outta use our names…might attract unwanted attention," Kid mused with a slight frown.
Heyes paused as he thought about what the Kid had just said. "Hate to admit it, but ya got a point there Kid."
"Well you think you're so dang smart, full o' big fancy words, why can't you come up with somethin'."
"Cos dammit Kid, it's gotta be somethin' that represents our freedom…"
Heyes stopped talking abruptly and they looked at each other in stunned silence for a couple moments before sharing a smile.
"Freedom Ranch," Kid said softly.
"It's perfect Kid."
Heyes' horse Clay wandered over to his master nudging him back to reality in search of a treat. Heyes blinked as he returned to the present reaching out to run his fingers through Clays' forelock before reaching up to scratch the horse behind one ear, smiling fondly as he did so.
"Hello Clay old friend. How you likin' your retirement?"
Clay snorted and nudged Heyes' arm.
"You're spoiled ya know that?" he laughed as he reached into his pocket for an apple holding it as Clay took a bite.
"Things surely have changed ain't they?" He took a deep breath letting it out slowly. "Remember Wheat and Kyle?...course ya do. Well I must be gettin' old cos somehow I let Kid talk me into lettin' him offer them a job here for the winter." Heyes shook his head and frowned as he continued to stroke the horses' neck. "I ain't sure how it's gonna work since Wheat never did like takin' orders from me much. Kid always said it was the way I gave the orders that made Wheat so uppity. He had a few too many drinks the other night and we got talkin' about the old days with the gang. He let slip that he sometimes had to calm the men down after I'd given orders…said at times the men thought that I figured I was better than them. I never knew they felt that way."
Heyes sighed again looking out at the horizon thinking about his absent partner before turning his attention to the horse once more giving him the rest of the apple.
"Wheat and Kyle looked pretty rough when they walked in the saloon…sure looked like they'd fallen on hard times and they'd both lost weight. Lord knows Kyle sure can't afford to lose much he's skinnier than I am. Then Kid comes up with the idea to offer them work for the winter, and I gotta admit I didn't really put up much of an argument. Guess I was rememberin' the last few weeks and how tired we were both gettin'. I mean I had to wake the Kid up more than once when he fell asleep in his chair on the porch after the days' work…once he even fell asleep with a cigar in his hand. Just hope we're not makin' a mistake takin' them on."
Clay snorted almost in understanding making Heyes chuckle softly as he looked once more toward the horizon, his forehead creasing in worry. He'd had a bad feeling when he got up this morning, his partner should have been back yesterday afternoon.
Clay perked his ears up glancing toward the lane leading to the ranch, Heyes following his horses' gaze knowing this horse as well as Kids' horse Buck had kept them safe by alerting them to trouble often not only during their days of outlawing but also in their hunt for amnesty. Expecting to see his partner he was surprised to see a horse and rider come into view, the rider slapping his horse on the rump with his hat trying to get as much speed as possible out of the animal. Heyes moved away from the fence frowning when he recognized Kyle Murtry.
"Heyes! Heyes!" Kyle was hollering breathlessly as he reined his horse to a stop.
Heyes took in the lathered animal which stood, sides heaving and head hanging.
"Kyle, what're ya doin' ridin' your horse like this…"
"Heyes, ya gotta come…" he cut in.
"Kyle take a minute catch your breath then tell me what's goin' on," he tried to calm Kyle thinking he had never seen him this upset wondering if something had happened to Wheat.
"No time…Wheat done sent me…Heyes it's the Kid."
Heyes look sharpened and he reached out grabbing the reins of Kyles' horse, his stomach beginning to tighten in fear.
"What about the Kid?"
"He's hurt Heyes. He's hurt real bad."
"Where is he? What happened?"
Heyes reined his horse back so hard the animal reared slightly. He dismounted before the horses' front hooves returned to the ground and he stumbled, falling to his hands and knees as he tried to get to his fallen friend. Scrambling to his feet he ran awkwardly toward his partner, fear choking him when he saw Wheats' blood covered hands as he dropped to his knees beside the man who was still working on the Kid.
"What the hell happened?" he gasped as he quickly took in the blood soaked shirt that had been torn away revealing the savageness of the beating he had sustained before looking at the battered face of his best friend.
"Ain't sure Heyes. He's still alive but breathin' real shallow. I bin doin' the best I can for 'im. Me and Kyle heard a couple gunshots, seen three fellas ridin' east. Didn't think much of it figured they were shootin' at a rabbit or somethin'."
Wheat took a quick glance over his shoulder "Dammit I told Kyle to make sure ya brung a doc."
"I sent him into town for him…he'll be along as quick as he can…he'll be bringin' a wagon too."
"I bin tryin' to shore up the bleedin', got it slowed down but …."
Heyes' hands were shaking as he brushed some hair from his friends' face that, despite the bruises that were forming, was far too pale. Heyes' breath caught as he thought of the last thing he'd said to his friend.
"I was teasin' him …told him he was in need of a haircut."
Wheat eyed his former leader seeing the anguish on his face.
"S'pose it is a mite longer than usual."
Heyes choked on his laugh…"He laughed, told me I was just jealous."
Heyes sniffed and shook his head. "This ain't supposed to happen now… not after all we bin through."
Wheat shifted uncomfortably, he knew that the Kid was in a real bad way but was unsure of what to say to his former leader. He heard Heyes take a deep breath as he tried to calm himself.
"I had a bad feelin' when he didn't show up yesterday like he was s'posed to…I shoulda known somethin' was wrong."
"Ain't no way ya coulda known Heyes. Looks like his horse musta pulled up lame. Seen him limpin', but ain't had a chance to check on 'im."
They were both silent for a moment.
"Sure wish that damn doc would hurry it up," Wheat said barely audibly thinking that the Kids' luck might have just run out.
