"It's a beautiful day ain't it Kid. Not too hot, not too cold…sun just peakin' over the hilltops. Nobody chasing us…" Heyes stated cheerfully.
His blond haired companion grunted irritably in response.
Heyes glanced over at his partner. He sure was a sorry sight this morning. He sat slouched miserably in his saddle, with his hat pulled low trying to keep the sun out of his barely open eyes. The day hadn't started out in a good way, but Lom had sent a telegram summoning them to Porterville, and they had to get moving to get there on time. Trying to get a badly hung over Kid Curry out of bed had been quite an adventure, kinda like trying to roust a bear out of hibernation, complete with the growling. And when Kid had refused breakfast, opting only for a couple cups of coffee, Heyes knew that he was feeling really bad. Then at the livery stable, the Kid's horse had decided, today of all days, to give a couple crow hops when Kid tried to mount, dumping him on his back in the dirt. Heyes had sat quietly on his horse looking down at his groaning partner, not saying a word. Kid had finally opened his eyes, looked up at Heyes and pleaded with him to shoot him. Even going so far as offering to let him use his colt. Now, here they were, finally on their way to Porterville.
"Yeah…it's days like this that make ya glad to be alive," Heyes continued.
"Heyes?" Kid croaked, not even raising his head.
"Yeah Kid?"
"Please stop talkin'."
"Still feelin' a little rough?"
Kid turned his head, trying unsuccessfully to glare at his partner through half open bloodshot eyes. Heyes shook his head and grimaced somewhat sympathetically, deciding that silence would be smart for the time being.
"We need to pick up the pace a bit soon Kid…" Heyes began after they had ridden silently for the better part of an hour.
"Can't quite yet."
His body was aching as a result of his fall in front of the livery stable, and every step that his horse took seemed to exacerbate the throbbing in his head.
"How much did I drink last night?" Kid moaned as he rubbed a hand over his eyes.
"Enough that you finally opened up about some things." Heyes paused, looking over at his friend. "You remember any of what we talked about last night?"
"Some," Kid replied scrunching up his face as he tried to remember.
"I remember us talkin' about Danny," he admitted, gazing off into the distance.
"It was somethin' ya needed to talk about Kid, to get off your chest."
"It's a hard thing to deal with Heyes, killin' someone. Almost like a little piece of you dies with them," he said turning his head, blue eyes meeting brown. "Thanks for the things you said last night. I'm sure I don't remember all of what you said, but I remember enough to help ease things some."
"Glad I was able to be of some help Kid."
Kid nodded slightly, once again gazing ahead into the distance.
" I'm sorry Kid, but we gotta meet Lom tomorrow afternoon. It's gonna be tight gettin' there as it is," Heyes reasoned.
"Just give me a little longer Heyes. I'll be all right in a bit."
"Think you could eat somethin' now? It might help. I grabbed a couple extra biscuits at the diner this mornin'."
"Yeah, maybe."
"Tell ya what, we'll stop for a bit, let you eat somethin' and I'll make some coffee. Then we can pick up the pace after that."
"Well if your coffee don't bring me around, nothin' will."
Heyes led them a short distance off the trail and dismounted, turning to watch Kid slowly slide from his horse and lean his forehead wearily against the saddle. Quickly he gathered a few pieces of wood and started a fire, just big enough to make coffee.
"C'mon Kid, sit down. Here, eat these while I make some coffee," he said, shoving two bandana wrapped biscuits at him.
"Ain't you gonna have one?"
"You forget, I went for breakfast."
Kid responded by nibbling on a biscuit, trying to decide if his stomach was going to rebel. By the time he started on the second one, Heyes was handing him a cup of coffee.
"How ya feelin' now?" Heyes asked hopefully after Kid had consumed both biscuits and two cups of coffee.
"Better. Just tired."
"All right, c'mon we better get movin'." They both rose to their feet, Heyes kicking dirt over the remains of the fire.
"Lom didn't say what he wanted us for?"
"Nope, telegram just said to be there no later than Tuesday."
They mounted their waiting horses and kicked them into a ground eating lope, trying to make up the time they had lost with their slow start this morning. They would undoubtedly be making camp early today, but would still be in Porterville tomorrow afternoon in time to see what Lom wanted.
