In the evening the group of friends was gathered around a fire again, not a small fire pit, but the dying embers of a bonfire.

Their surroundings showed clear evidence that a spontaneous festivity had taken place: drying cookware, moved logs, flat grass trampled by dozens of feet, and the last attendees still visible on their way back into town.

Kid Curry sat on a tree trunk, Billy on his lap. The boy was sleepy, but whatever the blond man whispered in his ear made him giggle.

Delilah watched their visitors leave and waved them goodbye. When she turned around, Jack reached out his hand and took hers gently. "Hope you like the place, 'cause it looks like we're gonna stay for a while. You were right; folks here are special."

"So, you have no doubts anymore?"

"No. No doubts. If they won't have us, nobody will. We've got our second chance here."

"Yes, that's what we've got. And I'm so happy I can be a teacher soon. It will do Billy some good to visit a regular school and make friends with kids his own age."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You know, you don't have to work for a while with the reward coming," Heyes threw in.

Jack shifted his eyes to him. "Yeah, but we're gonna make the best of it. Buyin' a place of our own. And I hope I'll find me a job, too."

"Of course, you will. You're a hero now," Heyes replied.

"I'm not." Jack shook his head.

"They think you are. That's been your celebration here. As much as I would have loved to call it mine." Heyes' chocolate-brown eyes twinkled. "You helped to get a murderer captured and you saved the sheriff, disregarding your own safety."

"That wasn't just me."

"It's been your decision and that's what they saw. That's all that counts."

"It wasn't my shot."

"We'll never know for sure. The Kid had more than enough glamour of his own, and he won't mind sharing it with you this time," Heyes told him and patted Jack's shoulder.

"I'd rather get out of here without drawin' too much attention. Be my guest. Glamour isn't quite what we're lookin' for, we'd prefer a low profile," Kid Curry replied. "It will wear off soon enough."

"I don't care about glamour either." Delilah leaned into Jack and whispered, "You've always been a hero to me."

"And you were mine." Jack smiled and shifted into her space.

Heyes turned away with a smile and retreated to his partner and the child.

For what felt like a lifetime Jack looked deep into Delilah's eyes. When he spoke up, his voice was soft and low, "We had it all, the good times and the bad. You've been with me all the way. You wanna settle down with me? Here? Marry me? Be my wife and carry my name – as will Billy?"

"Yes, oh yes, I will!" Delilah whispered and kissed him.

Heyes and Curry exchanged a glance and smiled.

When silence stretched, the boy in Kid Curry's arms got restless. "You gonna tell me the story?"

Jack and Delilah broke apart. "Of course, Billy."

Jack let go of Delilah, took the boy from Curry's arms and sat down with him on a log. "What story?" he asked his son.

"The story with the deer."

"You sure you don't wanna hear another one?"

Billy shook his head.

"Why not?"

"I like the way you tell it."

Jack smiled down at him. "Alright, the deer story it is."

The night was mild, the fire cast lively shadows, and everyone was still and listening as Jack told the well-known story again, with the deer running, hiding, but finally cornered by the hunter. "He squeezed the trigger, but..."

"...something fluttered right into his face," Heyes chimed in. "It was a hawk who had swooped down on the man with the rifle. He dropped his weapon to protect his eyes with his hands from the sharp claws aiming for them. Then a mighty bear appeared, a grizzly, roaring a challenge to the man. The deer had called his friends to help him out, and they bested the threat. The smart old buck had learned that what he couldn't accomplish alone would be possible for a team.

"While the bear and hawk were distracting the hunter, the old buck gathered his family and led them away to a safer place. Then he returned and met up with his friends. The hunter was scared to his bones and swore to never hunt an animal again if the dear Lord would only let him get away. His wish was granted, and he never returned to the forest again. And the friends were safe and lived happily ever after."

"That's not how the story goes," Billy objected.

"Oh yes, that's exactly, how it was meant to go, Billy," Heyes told him seriously. "All it needed was a little bit of trust and reliable friends." Heyes beamed a full-dimpled smile and locked eyes with Jack.

The young man nodded at him with sparkling eyes, flashing a smile bright enough to light up the sky, as he gently tousled Billy's short hair. "Yeah, sometimes you've got to smarten up and trust, sonny."

"Speakin' of trust, I'm not sure Sheriff Masterson is buyin' into your story, Heyes. He did look a mite too thoughtfully at us earlier. I don't think we should overstay our welcome here."

"Yeah, let's make some miles, Kid."

"So, it's not true? About Lom Trevors?"

"Well, mostly it is. We rode with him in the past. He's the sheriff in Porterville now and we work with him once in a while. But we're not exactly deputies..."

"So, we will part in the morning?" Delilah asked. "We can't convince you to stay a little longer? Be witnesses to our marriage?"

"No, ma'am. We'd be honored, but we'll be gone with the first light of the day," Heyes answered with one of his full-dimpled smiles, his eyes shaded with regret. "As much as we'd like to spend more time with you, we have to get moving. Folks will start thinking – and talking – and at some point, someone will jump to conclusions we wouldn't like. Better not to tempt them into rash actions and stay on the safe side."

"We'll never forget what you've done for us. You'll be in your hearts and prayers forever. If you ever come through these parts, please come visit us. There'll always be a place for you with us."

"Thank you, ma'am," Heyes replied. "We will."

-o-o-o-

Early the next morning the boys were ready to go. They tacked and packed their horses, working hand in hand with long practiced routine. Finished, they mounted their animals and started down the main street heading south, both lost in their own thoughts.

Kid Curry glanced at his partner several times, before he broke the unnatural silence. "You'd think Jack could've been one of us."

"Probably. Most likely you, considering your taste for girls, and tending to help the needy ones."

"Yeah, right," Curry huffed. "As if you would leave a kid of your own."

"At least that's one thing we don't have to worry about." Heyes' face went serious as his eyes traveled into the distance again. Under his breath he added, "As far as we know." Only a blink later a bright smile graced his face, and a twinkle of mischief appeared in his eyes. "All that worries me is you and your legendary stubbornness. You're quite a challenge at times."

"ME?! Great! Fine! Now it's me again bein' the cause of all of our worries. Why don't we talk about your harebrained plans for once? And what you were thinkin' back then, walkin' out on the street in the middle of a gunfight?"

"Well, I wasn't in any immediate danger." Heyes shrugged. "The odds were low that Racine would target me. All I had to do was to distract him long enough to give you a chance for a clear shot."

"All you had to do?! You're never gonna do a fool thing like that ever again! Only you would show up to a gunfight armed only with your mouth!"

"A mouth with a silver tongue!" A dimpled grin graced Heyes' mouth. "C'mon, Kid; it worked out just fine, didn't it?"

"Pure coincidence. You could have got us killed or locked away for a long time, if your plan hadn't worked out."

"But it did! There was never a question it would. That's why I'm the genius planner and you're the fast gun!"

Kid Curry's eyes shot sparks at his partner. "So, I'm only a fast gun to you now?" he huffed. "You better not forget I'm the only thing keepin' you alive, ingrate! Thank God, you're still breathin', because of my gun..." He continued a surprisingly long and heated tirade, its volume fading as the boys headed towards the distant hills, one enemy short, but a couple of friends richer.