Helen (from The Fifth Victim)
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Kid Curry sat on the cabin porch with the heel of one boot resting on the single pole railing, and looked out across the long but narrow yard. It was early morning and a red and orange sky painted the horizon but had not yet crested the treetops of the thick woods that lay just beyond the clearing. He held a cup of steaming coffee clasped between both hands, staving off the early morning chill. He knew the red sky brought with it the promise of rain and despite the early hour, he glanced toward the lane, hopeful of seeing a rider approach.
Hearing the screen door creek, then slap shut, Kid looked up to see his companion, dressed only in her cotton nightgown, quietly standing on the porch watching at him while waiting for an invitation to occupy the empty chair beside him.
Kid brought his foot down from the rail, his boot landing with a thud on the wooden floor and clearing the way for her to take the empty chair him. "Morning. You sleep well?" he asked.
Helen Carter's face broke into a wide smile. "I did," she replied as she walked over and settled into the empty chair. "Can't say the same for you. You tossed around a lot last night."
"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep."
Helen took a deep breath and turned her attention to the awakening sky. "You know, Jones, fretting about your partner ain't gonna get him here any sooner."
An amused grin brought a dimple to Kid's cheek. "What makes you think I'm fretting? Might be the comfort of a soft mattress just don't agree with me."
"That's one possibility, but I've already discovered that most mornings you don't want to get outta bed till most folks have put in a full day's work."
Kid laughed. "Well, if you just got up darlin' the bed might still be warm, and if not, I s'pect we could go back in there and heat it up some."
Helen's eyes sparkled as a coy expression crossed her face and she reached for his hand. "I suspect we can warm it up quick enough," she replied and stood, then gave his arm a tug and he willingly pulled himself to his feet and wrapped an arm about her waist.
"Lead the way, darlin.'"
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Helen Carter was a pretty woman. She was nearly as tall as the Kid, and her long wavy hair had a reddish brown tinge intermingled with an overall blonde color that fell just below her shoulders. She had a slightly brazen demeanor that contrasted well with an inviting smile and sparkling eyes, and she filled a saloon dress well enough to raise the attention of every sighted man in the saloon.
Kid had met Helen several months ago when he and Heyes were working for Jake Carlson, a wealthy rancher who had invited them into a weekly poker game with several other prominent men. Heyes, as well as three other men in town, had been shot by a sniper bullet, and Mrs. Carlson had nursed Heyes back to health, while Kid set to work to identify the shooter. This quest had led Kid to Helen and, though the information Helen had offered proved to be just false romors, her charm, physical attributes, and specialized professional talents had not gone unnoticed by the reforming outlaw. In the end, Jake Carlson killed a man named Harvey Bishop, in an act that later proved to be one of self defense.
Though his initial contact with Helen began with an exchange of money, Kid's interest in Helen had slowly grown more personal after he and Heyes returned to the small Wyoming town a year after the shooting in order to testify at a hearing on Jake's behalf. One of the wealthiest men in town, Jake Carlson was also one of the most influential men in the county, and his lawyers had been able to arrange an informal hearing in lieu of jury trial. With Mrs. Carlson being the only person in town knowing, or even suspecting their true identities, Heyes and Curry had agreed to return and provide depositions. When the hearing was concluded, and Jake had been cleared, he and Rachel departed for an extended excursion abroad.
Since the hearing, Kid had returned to the town three more times. With the exception of Rachel Carlson, no one in the town, including the sheriff, suspected Kid of being anyone other than Thaddeus Jones. Always his visits were brief, no more than one or two nights, but he made it clear to Helen that his interest exceeded that of a paying customer by first inviting her to dinner that did not include any after dinner expectations. A second visit included a barn dance, and a night in his hotel room. When he arrived for this current visit, Helen had invited him to stay at her place.
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An hour after returning to bed, Kid lay on his side with Helen curled up snugly against him. As he watched her sleep, Kid softly stroked small strands of her hair while gently caressing her shoulder. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her torso as she breathed, and he smelled the slightly musky scent of her skin. She shifted slightly and uttered a contented moan before opening her eyes and turning her head to face him with a sleepy smile.
"You ready to start your day now, Jones?"
Kid gave her shoulder a soft, gentle kiss. "Helen, why do you keep calling me Jones? I've told you my name is Thaddeus."
"Thaddeus sounds so stuffy."
"Stuffy?" Kid asked with some amused surprise. He wasn't particularly fond of the name, but he had never thought of it as stuffy.
"Thaddeus sounds like someone in a three piece suit, a shirt so stiff it would crack if you bent your arm, one of them fancy bow ties, and black shoes so shiny you could see your reflection."
Kid laughed. "And what does Jones sound like to you?"
"Easy going, a smile so warm it could melt butter, and eyes the color of a summer sky after a rain."
Kid smiled. "The name Helen reminds me of them very same things," he told her. "Except your eyes sparkle with a bit of devilment."
"Devilment? That's a new one. Ain't nobody ever told me that before."
"Well, I happen to like a little devilment in a woman. It adds a little..."
"Mischief?"
"Yeah, that's the word I was looking for... You know, you ain't told me much about yourself. Tell me about yourself," he suggested.
Helen shifted to her back and rested her head on the muscular part of Kid's arm. Then she pulled the sheet up just over her breasts. "Ain't much to tell, Jones. I was born in Arkansas. Lived there with my Ma and two older brothers till I was thirteen."
"What happened to your Pa?"
"Nothing. He just didn't spend enough time there for us to know him. He called it a wanderlust, but I think just plain lust was the only part of that word that was honest. He'd go off for months at a time, leaving Ma to provide for us kids."
"Oh," Kid said. "That's sad. A man marries and has children... well, he ought to be dependable and take care of his family. What else is there to know about you?"
"Well, I ran off when I was thirteen. I eventually ended up here and by then I knew my way around the block. I needed a job to pay for a place to live and food, and working in a saloon pays a woman better than any other job I know of."
"You didn't finish school? I only ask cause you strike me as someone smart."
Helen smiled. "I finished school and ran off the next day. I think I was blessed with common sense, and something the whores call street smarts."
"You ever regret it? Being on your own so young, I mean."
"I doubt anybody gets through life without some regrets, but leaving home ain't one of mine. It ain't the life I dreamed of as a child, but it got me out of a bad situation at home."
"You ever been back, to your childhood home I mean?"
"I went back when my Ma died. Nothing had changed. I left right after the funeral and I ain't been back since."
Helen reached up and took one of Kid's hands in her own and examined both his palm and the back of his hand. "Alright Jones, your turn. What's you're story?" she asked.
"I was on my own at ten. Well, me and Joshua were on our own together. That's when we ended up in an orphanage in Kansas," Kid told her, then smiled. "Like you, we ran away and we've been on our own ever since."
"You're palms are soft, callouses ain't thick, so I know you ain't a farmer or a cowboy. What do you do for a living?"
"I always tell folks as little as possible and nothing that's too hard on the back," Kid said with a smile.
"So you are more a Thaddeus than a Jones?"
Kid laughed. "In name only, darlin.'"
"I know this Joshua fella is supposed to be showing up today, so how long are you planning on staying this time?"
"I won't know that till Joshua gets here. I s'pect just another day or two."
Helen sighed, then gathered the sheet about her and sat up on the edge of the bed. Kid reached for his long johns that were hanging on the bedpost. He then climbed out of the bed and slipped into his long johns and pants.
"Why don't I go make us some fresh coffee while you get dressed," he suggested.
Helen nodded and watched him walk out of the room, closing the door behind him. Kid padded barefooted into the main room and pulled back a curtain to let some light in through the only window in the room.. He found the coffee pot still sitting on top of the wood burning stove. It was nearly empty, but still too hot to touch, so he rummaged through some drawers until he found a dishtowel and used it to move the coffeepot from the top of the stove to the sink where he then set to work preparing some coffee.
Kid was on his second cup when Helen emerged from the bedroom wearing the familiar yellow, low cut dress with the black, accentuating ribbons. The dress stopped just below her knees and fit quite snugly to compliment every curve and expose an enticing amount of her soft breasts and deep cleavage.
Kid felt a twinge of resentment when seeing her dressed for work as it reminded him that he was not the only man who shared a bed with her, but Helen either did not notice, or chose not to react. Instead she sniffed at the air and smiled. "Coffee smells good."
The casual sound and tone of her voice quickly reminded him that he had no claim and therefore no right to judge, and he quickly brushed aside whatever it was he was feeling. "I'll get you a cup," he said as she sat down at the table.
"Is your friend coming here or are you meeting him in town?" she asked when Kid slid a cup of coffee across the table to her.
Kid shook his head. "Supposed to meet him at the hotel, but I don't know what time he'll be getting in."
"I'd like to meet him, so why don't you bring him by the saloon this evening?"
Kid nodded. "Sure," he replied, then fell silent.
Helen sensed by the lengthy quiet that something was amiss. "Jones, I enjoyed last night, and this morning," she said with a warm smile.
"Me too," Kid replied. "Helen..." His voice trailed off as he wasn't sure just what it was he wanted to say, or even how to say it. "Guess I'd better finish getting dressed," he told her and got up and headed toward the bedroom.
Helen sipped her coffee and kept herself from watching him walk away. She had been earning her keep for nearly half her life and had long ago learned how to read a man's intentions. Most wanted nothing more than the few minutes it took to burn a candle or two. Some, mostly the young and naive ones, didn't recognize the difference between love and lust. A few felt the money they doled out entitled them to take their pleasure however they saw fit, and thought nothing of leaving her bruised and sometimes battered. With the exception of Jones, few if any men ever treated her as anything more than a working girl
Helen understood that typical male mentality and she had learned to both mentally and physically protect herself. But two or three men, Jones being one, had managed to chink away the armor, and they left her feeling something very unfamiliar and, to Helen's way of thinking, something quite uncomfortable and even frightening. These men, she had come to believe, were the most dangerous, because they left her feeling vulnerable and uncertain of herself. Through them she could glimpse a life she knew she would never attain. These were the men with whom she tread most cautiously.
Kid finished dressing and brought his packed saddlebags out of the bedroom and laid them over a chair. He stood for a moment while deciding if he should stay or go, but Helen made that decision for him.
"Sit back down. I'm awake enough now to fix us some breakfast."
"Don't want to be no trouble," Kid replied.
Helen looked at him and smiled. "Something tells me, Jones, you've always been a bit of trouble. I think it's that innocent poker face that gives you away. Now how do you want your eggs?"
Kid sat down and filled his cup with coffee, pleased that she had not encouraged him to leave. "I like em over easy," he replied.
"You are talking about the eggs, right?" she asked with a deadpan look on her face that made Kid blush just a bit.
"Eggs, among other things," he replied and they both felt a bit of the nervous tension ease.
"I suspect, being as you brung your saddlebags out, that you're planning to spend the night in town?" Helen asked with her back to Kid as she gathered the things she needed to fix breakfast.
"I thought I would. Being as I haven't seen him for a few days, I s'pect we have some things to talk about," Kid replied, anxious to know if Heyes' meeting with Lom in Porterville would bring any promising news from the governor.
"Well, if you can give me a ride into town, George can bring me home tonight. It's on his way."
"George?" Kid couldn't help but ask.
"George Chandler. He's the bartender."
"Oh, I see," Kid said, feeling a bit relieved, but not really knowing why.
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Arriving in town near noon, Kid dropped Helen off at the saloon and headed for the hotel to see if Heyes had checked in. When he learned that Heyes had not yet arrived, Kid decided to go to the cafe for some lunch.
"Jones!" Sheriff Moody called from down the street.
Kid stopped and turned, then waited as the Sheriff walked toward him briskly.
"I got a letter from Jake Carlson about a week ago. I thought you might be interested."
"I'm listening," Kid replied.
"I don't know how much you know about him and Rachel, but after Jake was exonerated of murder, he and Rachel decided they needed to get away from here for a while. They took a train to New York City, and then a ship to Europe. They've been over there for five or six months now."
"Didn't know that," Kid replied.
"Well the letter says they're coming back to sell the ranch and then they plan on moving to Montana. Jake's got a brother up near Boise and he's got a cattle ranch there that Jake plans to buy into. Anyway, he and Rachel will be returning here in about a week."
"Sorry I'll miss em," Kid replied. "But Joshua and I have some business in Cheyenne that just can't wait," he lied.
"That's too bad. I know they'd both like to see you and thank you for what you done."
"They already did that before we left the first time," Kid told him. "But I'll give Joshua the news. I'm expecting him to arrive sometime today. Thanks, Sheriff."
Kid went on his way to the cafe. When he emerged a half an hour later, he was pleased to see Heyes' sorrel tied to the post outside the hotel. He checked at the desk and learned Heyes was in room 213.
"Joshua, it's me," Kid called from outside the room as he knocked on the door.
Kid heard the key slide into the lock and a moment later the door opened.
"You eaten? I'm starved," Heyes said as Kid walked in.
"I could eat another piece of pie," Kid replied. "You got any news?"
"Nothing you're gonna wanna hear. How's your girlfriend?"
"She ain't my girlfriend," Kid replied. "She wants me to bring you over to the saloon tonight so she can meet you."
"That sure sounds like a girlfriend."
"I ran into Sheriff Moody this morning He said Jake and Rachel have been off on some trip for the past few months, but are due back any day now. I ain't sure we oughta be here when we get back."
Heyes stopped unpacking and sat down on the bed. "You're still leery about Rachel, ain't you? You know, other than twenty thousand dollars, I don't see any reason why she'd go back on her word," he said, slightly in jest.
"I never told you about this, Heyes, but when Jake ran off and Rachel wanted me to go after him, I told her that for my own reasons, I just couldn't do it. That's when she told me she knew who we were, and if I didn't go..."
"She blackmailed you into going after Jake?" Heyes asked with surprise in his voice.
Kid nodded. "She might not tell anyone who we are, but she's not above using that information to get her own way."
"Well, I guess I can certainly see your reluctance to be in town when they get back. How soon did you say they were coming?"
"Few days."
"Yeah, we definitely wanna be out of town before they get back. Now how about that piece of pie?"
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The morning sky had promised rain and it came in the form of heavy showers most of the afternoon, forcing Kid and Heyes to retreat to their hotel room. Kid spent much of the time cleaning his gun, while Heyes read a book he'd been trying to finish for a week.
"You never did tell me what Lom had to say," Kid said with no consideration to the fact that Heyes was trying to read.
"Same as always. He's impressed with how well we're doing, but the timing ain't right."
"Lom made you make a trip to Porterville just to tell you there weren't no new news?"
"Pretty much. I guess he's getting more and more like the governor all the time, ain't he?"
Kid rubbed the barrel of his gun with the cleaning cloth, then gave it a careful inspection."I wish there was a statute of limitations on our crimes, cause I bet we'd reach that before the governor ever found a time that was right."
Heyes frowned, but had to agree that there were times when the quest for amnesty did seem pointless and never ending.
"Heyes, you ever wonder which one of us would handle prison the best?"
With raised eyebrows, Heyes looked across the room at his partner, but Kid was still busy polishing his gun. "I suppose that would be you," he replied, knowing Kid would not have asked had he not thought that to be true. "But what makes you think so?"
"Well, I'm sure early on there'd be a few who would want to prove they were the bigger man, but after a few fist fights, they'd learn quick not to mess with me."
The corners of Heyes' mouth twitched into a grin as he thought of several instances when Kid had not come out on the winning end of a fist fight. "And me?" he asked.
"You'd try to flim-flam em all the time, what with standing an egg on end, or making five pat hands, or cutting the Ace of Spades. They'd get tired of losing pretty quick and want to put an end to it."
"You spend a lot of time thinking about such things, Kid?"
Kid examined his gun and deciding the cleaning met with his approval, he holstered it with a slick sound of leather, then looked up at his partner and grinned. "Nope," he replied.
"So, tell me about this girl you came to see."
"Her name's Helen Carter. She works in the saloon. She's got a bit of sass to her," Kid said with a smile.
"Most saloon girls do."
"Yeah, but not like Helen. She calls things like she sees em. She's the one that told me about them rumors about Rachel and Harvey Bishop."
"That's how you met her, trying to figure out who was doing the killings?"
"Uh-huh.
"And I suppose you got to know her pretty well that night?"
Again Kid grinned. "Yep."
"While your partner was unconscious and possibly dying?"
"Unconscious maybe. I don't think nobody expected you to die. It weren't a deep wound, Heyes. Doc just used a cotton ball to clean you up."
Heyes rolled his eyes at his partner's conclusion, then dropped his gaze back to the page he had been reading. "You'll use any excuse you can find, won't you?" Heyes mumbled.
"Yep," Kid said with a proud grin.
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Heyes and Kid walked into the saloon around nine in the evening. Kid quickly eyed the room but Helen was nowhere to be fond. Walking up to the bar, Kid was surprised that George was not working.
"Two beers," Kid told the bartender. "George ain't here tonight?"
The bartender shook his head. "His wife picked tonight to go into labor. He's home with her and the doctor. He asked me to fill in for him."
"You seen Helen?" Kid asked.
"She went upstairs a few minutes ago."
"Well, when she comes down, would you tell her that Jones is looking for her?"
The bartender set two beers on the counter and Kid waited for Heyes to pay. Then they picked up their glasses and found an empty table.
"Jones?" Heyes asked.
Kid nodded. "That's what she calls me. She thinks Thaddeus sounds to stodgy."
"But you hate the name Jones."
"Not the way she says it. She says it with a sort of lilt in her voice."
"Oooh, I can see where that would make all the difference."
Kid had his back to the stairs and didn't see Helen come down, but the bartender did giver her the message.
"So this must be Joshua," Helen said as she approached the table and filled an empty chair.
"Joshua, this is Helen Carter," Kid said as an introduction.
"Nice to meet you. Jones here speaks quite highly of you," Helen told Heyes.
"Well that's quite nice of Jones." Heyes said with a wink in Kid's direction.
"Jones, I need to ask you a favor."
"Sure. What time you get off?" Kid asked, knowing what she was about to ask.
Helen smiled. "George took the night off."
"We heard."
"I don't get off till two. You can give me a ride home tonight? You can stay at my place if you want to."
Kid raised his eyes toward his partner who simply shrugged his shoulders.
"If you don't mind," Kid told her.
"Thanks. I'd better get back to work," she told them. "Time is money."
Heyes watched her saunter back toward the bar. "Well I can see the attraction, Kid. She's pretty, confident, and fills that dress out quite nicely."
Kid drank the last of his beer. "You want another?" he asked, pushing his chair out and standing.
Heyes nodded. "I'll see if I can find a couple of seats at a poker table."
They played poker for a couple of hours, then returned to their hotel room where Kid was hoping to catch a couple of hours of sleep before picking Helen up at the end of her shift.
Heyes plopped himself down on the bed and turned up the oil lamp as he planned to read for a while. Kid sat down beside him and stuffed a couple of pillows behind his back.
"Heyes, can I ask you something and you won't make fun of it?" Kid asked quite seriously.
"What do you want to ask?"
"I was wondering if... Well, have you ever been in love?"
Heyes glanced at his partner and could see that Kid was both very serious and a little embarrassed about his question. "Once," he confessed. "It happened during the year we had gone our separate ways. Her name was Margaret."
"You never told me about that," Kid said with some surprise, and a lot of relief that Heyes had not treated his question lightly.
"Not much to tell. It didn't last. But Tennyson was right about it being better to have loved and lost."
"Who?"
Heyes opened his mouth to explain in detail, then thought better of it. "A famous poet."
"How did you know you was in love?"
Heyes smiled. "If you hafta ask, you ain't in love," he replied but could quickly see that was not the answer Kid wanted to hear. "It's... it's being so caught up in someone that the whole rest of the world just disappears. It's laying with someone, not just for the physical pleasure, but to feel so close to that person that the two of you just sort of meld into one being. It's knowing that no matter how many miles are between you, you're as close as if you were in the same room. It's knowing that there's not another person in the world that can make you feel the way that person makes you feel."
Kid listened intently to every word his partner said. "And you felt all that once, did you?"
Heyes nodded. "And if it ends, it's the worst pain you'll ever know. Kid, are you trying to tell me that you are in love with Helen?"
Kid was silent for some time before slowly shaking his head.
"Is she in love with you?"
"I don't think so," he replied quietly.
"Might be wise to find out for certain," Heyes replied. "And if she is, you hafta find a way to let her down easy. Unrequited love is just as painful, in different ways.
"I don't know that word either, Heyes."
"When you love someone who don't feel the same way about you."
"Oh," Kid said in a way that made Heyes wonder if Kid didn't have some familiarity with unrequited love.
But any response from Kid was not forthcoming. Instead, he fluffed one of the pillows that had been behind his back and scooted down into the bed to catch a couple of hours of sleep.
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The afternoon rain had subsided hours ago, but the road remained muddy and wet with puddles. Kid guided his horse slowly in the dark of the night as they headed toward Helen's cabin. Once there, he tied the reins to the hitching post, then returned to the left side of the horse to help Helen down from the saddle.
"I know it's late, but are you hungry?" Helen asked as they walked inside the cabin and she lit the oil lamp on the kitchen table.
"I'm always hungry."
"Put that pot of coffee on the stove to warm and I'll fix us both a sandwich."
Half an hour later their plates were empty and Helen picked them up and put them in the sink, then turned and looked at Kid. "You've been awful quiet, Jones. Is that cause you're tired, or is there something on your mind?"
Kid hesitated. "We're going to be leaving today," he told her. "Jake and Rachel are coming back from a trip they took."
Helen offered no visible reaction. "They coming back today?" she simply asked.
"No. Sometime within the week, though."
"And you and your partner are leaving to avoid them? I thought you and the Carlsons got along fine."
"We do. We just want to keep it that way... I don't like leaving you behind."
Helen smiled. It was a nice feeling to know someone cared about her welfare, but she had no reason to fear the Carlsons, and she knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She reached for the coffee pot and brought it to the table. Filling their cups, she then sat down across from Kid.
"You say that every time you leave," she reminded him.
"I wish I could... I wish I could make your life better," Kid said as he raised his eyes to look at her.
Helen smiled and the look in her eyes was soft. "You ain't heard me complaining about my life, have you?"
Kid held her gaze. "It's just that you deserve better," he replied quietly.
"Jones, I'm gonna tell you something I ain't never told nobody, and when I'm done, I ain't ever gonna speak of this again."
Kid nodded. "I'll listen," he promised.
Helen took a deep breath and nervously traced the brim of her coffee cup with her finger. Kid wrapped his hands loosely around his cup and waited patiently for her to begin.
"My line of work don't allow for much more than satisfying a man's pleasures. Eight minute candles don't exactly invite conversation beyond tellin' a man the things he wants to hear... Hell, half of my customers are married men and most of em are too drunk to even remember which girl they poked the night before. But twice now, someone's come along that... well that treated me with some respect and saw me as someone more than just a whore. Jake Carlson was one of them men. It was before he was married to Rachel... When I ran away from home, I hooked up with a man who went door to door all over the west selling pots and pans and such things. He said I reminded him of his daughter and he wanted to take care of me. I was thirteen and he promised me a roof over my head, food, and... and I fell for his lies. I had no money, no way of taking care of myself. But it wasn't a daughter he was looking for and within a year I ran away from him, too, and I ended up here, in this town, cold and hungry, with nothing more than the clothes on my back. And that's when I met Lydia."
Helen paused and looked across the table at Kid who was staring at his coffee cup, but intent on her every word she spoke.
"Lydia was fifteen and already working at the saloon. She took me in, got me spruced up and, put some meat on my scrawny bones, and she took me in to see George. We lied about my age, told him I was fifteen and he hired me under the same conditions as Lydia. Because we was so young, we could only cater to the boys eighteen or younger."
"Helen I..."
Sush, let me finish. Jake use to come into the saloon on Saturday nights to play poker, and he was always polite to Lydia and me and knew to keep his distance. He was in his forties back then and, well he saw something in me that he liked, but he knew I was off limits to him. So he offered me a job as a housekeeper at his ranch, and said he'd pay me more than I was making at the saloon. I was old enough by then to know what he was really after, but I took the job, and he surprised me by only expecting me to do the housekeeping. That went on till I turned seventeen, he told he wanted to start courting me and it wouldn't go any further than that till we was married. He made all kinds of wild promises to me, and I fell for every word he said. But when I turned eighteen things changed. For one, Rachel moved to town and all them promises just vanished in the wind. Then one day Jake told me he didn't need a housekeeper no more cause he was gonna marry Rachel. And lo and behold, Harvey Bishop was just waiting in the wings. I knew he weren't any different than Jake, but he treated me good for a while. Then I started hearing rumors about Harvey and Rachel."
"So what did you do?"
"That's when I realized there was never gonna be a knight in shining armor for me. No man was ever gonna rescue me. If I wanted rescued, I'd hafta do that myself. I decided whoring was a lot more honest way of living. At least you always know where you stand whoring."
Helen paused and let the silence continue until Kid looked up at her once again. When she spoke, her voice had a softer tone. "I wanted to believe those rumors about Harvey and Rachel, cause if they were true... Well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. So when you came along askin' questions, I was eager to tell you everything Harvey Bishop had told me."
"Were you in love with Jake?"
Helen frowned and shook her head. "Oh, I thought I was, for a time at least. But after all was said and done, I realized Jake was the first man that was actually honest with me about what he wanted, and he was honest with me when he decided he wanted someone else. I couldn't see that at the time, but I can see it now... And I can see something else, too."
"What's that?" Kid asked.
"You're that same kind of man. Honest as the day is long."
"Helen, there's a reason I can't be here when Jake and Rachel get back and it's got nothing to do with no romance. I told you before, I've never had no interest in Rachel, but there's a lot you don't know about me, a lot I can't begin to explain, at least not now. But I don't make a promise that I don't intend to keep... and I promise you one day I'll be back and I'll tell you everything. I can tell you this though, and I know it from experience... What's done is done. We can't change our pasts, but we can find a way to pick up the pieces and move on."
"I done that a long time ago, Jones. I came from nothing, and I carved out a life that works for me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm doing just fine on my own now."
"I could see that the first time I met you," Kid said with a smile. "But everyone needs... someone."
Helen nodded with a knowing smile on he face. "Everyone needs someone sometimes, but not constantly. No one knows what's down the road. So you just take the cards that life deals out to you and you play your hand the best you can."
Kid smiled. "Now you sound like Joshua," he told her.
"I hope our roads keep crossing from time to time Jones, and who knows, maybe one day the timing will be right for us."
Kid nodded. "Maybe someday."
"It's getting late. The sun will be up in a couple of hours. You coming to bed?"
Kid shook his head. "I think I'd best go back to town."
"Will I see you again before you leave?"
"I can't promise, but I'll try," he said as he stood.
Kid stepped around the table and gave Helen a warm kiss. "Good night, darlin'."
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Heyes stirred when Kid walked into the hotel room. "I thought you was spending the night?" he mumbled. "You two have a fight?"
"No, just a long talk. Go back to sleep, Heyes."
Heyes pulled himself up and lit the lamp beside his bed. "You okay?"
"Heyes, I'm alright. You don't need to lose sleep. I don't plan to," Kid told him and began stripping down to his longjohns.
"You two figure out how you feel about each other?"
"You ain't going back to sleep till we talk about this, are you?"
Heyes sat up in his bed and leaned against the headboard. "Well if you insist on talking abut it, I'll listen," he said with an exaggerated yawn.
Kid grinned."Yeah Heyes, we figured out how we feel about each other, and we ain't gonna stop seeing each other now and again. Is that enough information for you?"
"You sure are a chatterbox, Kid. Why don't we both try to get some sleep."
"Good idea."
Heyes snuffed the light and scooted back down into his bed. "Kid," he called to his partner in the dark.
"Yeah?"
"From what I could tell, she's a fine woman."
Kid smiled. "Good night, Heyes."
The next morning they got up, dressed, and packed before checking out of the hotel. After a hardy breakfast at the cafe, they headed out of town, stopping at Helen's cabin for another cup of coffee before going on their way.
"I wish you'd stay another day, but I understand you're not wanting to do that," she told them as they sat at the kitchen table.
"I'm sure Thaddeus will see to it that we stop back this way again," Heyes told her.
"Helen, remember what I said about moving on. Joshua and I know a little something about that. You might get a few setbacks along the way, but it's where you end up that's important, not how you get there," Kid said.
Helen smiled "We tend to use the road less traveled, uh Jones?"
"Usually got fewer ruts," Kid replied before kissing Helen good bye. "You ready Joshua?"
"I'm ready, Thaddeus," Heyes replied, then turned his attention to Helen. "Was a pleasure meeting you, Ma'am. Hope to see you again real soon."
Helen walked out on the porch with them and stood and watched them mount their horses. She raised her hand and gave them a slow wave and Kid raised two fingers toward the brim of his hat to return the gesture, before he and Heyes turned their horses and headed off down the road.
Helen watched them until they were out of sight and wondering if and when their paths might cross again.