Chapter 13

Heyes stepped outside and felt the crisp, early morning air against his skin. He paused on the front porch, taking a moment to savor the view; the same view he saw every morning when he stepped across the threshold of his home. He basked in the freshness of the early morning hours; a time when everything felt new and clean; when endless possibilities for the day seemed to stretch out before him. From the corner of his eye, he could see movement near the corral. Soon, his full attention was focused there and he felt his good mood ebbing away. He watched as Jeremiah, unaware that he was no longer alone in the yard, roughly jerked the lead rope belonging to one of their horses, trying to force him to move to the barn from the corral. Heyes bristled. 'That's no way to treat that animal.' He frowned; standing still just watching for a few more moments before making his presence known.

"Good morning," he called finally, keeping his voice light and cheerful, as he walked slowly across the yard to where Jeremiah stood.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Heyes," the young man said politely, his attitude toward the horse changing immediately. His hand reached up to stroke the big animal's neck affectionately, putting on a show for his employer.

Heyes shook his head. More and more, he was starting to realize why Kid didn't trust the boy. He'd been working there for a week now and the more Heyes saw, the less he cared for him. "What's on the schedule for this morning?" he asked lightly.

"Clay asked me to bring some of these horses into the barn; figures we might have a thunderstorm later."

Heyes nodded looking at the dark clouds already starting to gather over the mountains. "Might at that," he acknowledged. "Well, I guess I better let you get back to your work. Treat those horses well now, you hear?" he said pointedly.

"Sure thing," Jeremiah answered smoothly, punctuating his words with a slick smile.

"Oh, and I'll look after Prometheus myself," Heyes added.

The boys smile slipped slightly. "Whatever you say, Mr. Heyes. You're the boss."

Jeremiah went back to leading the horse into the barn, taking care to project an attitude of patience and caring. Heyes watched him thoughtfully for a while, deciding it might be time to talk to Kid about their new hand. He frowned, knowing that Catherine would be heartbroken if they fired Jeremiah.

As if thinking of his niece had magically caused her to appear, Heyes suddenly heard her voice in his ear. "Good morning, Uncle Heyes," she said brightly, the anger of the previous night seemingly forgotten in the light of a new day.

"Morning, Catherine, sleep well?" he asked, his frown gone, replaced by a cheerful smile that matched her own.

"Oh, yes, I did, thank you." Her eyes wandered away from him and he knew that most of her attention was being devoted to Jeremiah. He followed her eyes and saw that Jeremiah was staring back at her too. Heyes barely suppressed a shudder, suspecting what the two young people were feeling and knowing how poorly Kid was going to react.

That afternoon, with her own chores done and nothing to prevent her from doing so, Catherine sought Jeremiah out once again. She found him in the barn, pouring feed from an old wooden bucket into the feed troughs.

"Hey, there," he said as she approached, "I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. I was just thinking how nice it would be if you were here."

Catherine blushed at the compliment. He pretended not to notice, and continued talking, changing the subject, "Have you taken Belle out for a ride yet today?"

"No, I was waiting for my Pa to finish his chores. He promised we'd go today; since he couldn't go yesterday."

"Oh, that's right, he won't let you ride alone," Jeremiah said sympathetically.

Catherine grimaced. "No, he won't, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Some men just can't handle seeing their little girls grow up, but I'm sure he'll come around. Say, I'm finished with the chores Clay gave me. Would you like me to ride with you?"

"Oh, that would be lovely! I should let my pa know where I'm going though; he's up on the hill somewhere. Wait for me; I'll go look for him."

"Uh, might not be time for that, Catherine. From the look of that sky, we'd better hurry up or we'll be caught in the storm before we can get back. Tell you what—I'll let your uncle Heyes know we're going while you go get Belle ready." Catherine hesitated slightly. She wasn't sure if her father would approve of Jeremiah accompanying her. As she was thinking about what her father would say, the boy flashed a smile that made her forget any hesitation she may have had. She stole a glance at her Uncle who was standing on the front porch watching the skies. She knew he'd be ok with her going with Jeremiah.

"Okay, thank you!" she called as she rushed off to get Belle's saddle on her.

Jeremiah strolled out of the barn, chuckling softly to himself, marveling at how easy it was for him to get girls to fall for him. As he got closer to Heyes, he composed his face into a more serious expression. "Mr. Heyes? Catherine asked me go along with her on a short ride. She said Mr. Curry wouldn't mind as long as she wasn't alone."

"Oh? Is that right?" Heyes looked dubious, suspecting that Kid would mind very much, in fact.

"Yes, sir. That's what she said."

Heyes frowned, his dark eyebrows pulled together suspiciously. "No. I don't think so."

"What?"

Heyes shook his head, his eyes steady as he stared down the younger man. "I don't think so. Catherine needs to ask her father."

The muscles in Jeremiah's jaw tensed visibly, his anger rising to just below the surface of his composed exterior. His eyes narrowed; in a split second, he regained the control he was struggling with and he smiled. "Anything you say, Mr. Heyes."

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other, Wilde." Heyes' eyes held more meaning than his words, and the meaning was not lost on the younger man. "Now, get back to work."

"Sure thing, Mr. Heyes."

Heyes turned his back on Jeremiah and, without another word, walked into the house, leaving the other man standing on the porch alone. Jeremiah called after him, "I'll just go tell Catherine she'll have to wait until her pa gets back." Then he spun on his heel and rigidly strode back to the barn.

He met Catherine coming out just as he was going in. "Did you tell Uncle Heyes?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yep, sure did. It's all set. Let's go," he answered darkly.

"Whew! Didn't think I'd get finished before the rain came, but I did," Curry announced proudly, coming through the front door. "I think that sky's gonna bust open any time now." He paused and looked at his partner sitting comfortably in a chair by the fireplace, his book from the night before in his lap. "You haven't been sittin' there all afternoon, have you?"

"Of course not, Jed. I just got in a few minutes ago myself."

Kid glanced at Heyes. Something in his voice set off an alarm in his head, and looking at his face didn't make him feel any better; Heyes looked worried. And when Heyes was worried, that worried Kid.

"What's the matter, Heyes?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing…Kid, was Catherine with you?"

"Catherine? Of course not. I was out working and she was—"

The alarm in his head was clanging loudly now. "Where's Catherine, Heyes?"

Heyes shook his head, side to side, slowly; concern drawing his eyebrows down into a frown and his lower lip out in concentration. "I'm not sure, Kid. I was hoping she was with you. Wilde said—"

"Wilde! What's Wilde got to do with this?"

"Calm down, Kid. Just calm down. I'm sure she's all right. Wilde came to me earlier and asked if it would be alright if he and Catherine took a ride. Said she said it would be ok with you."

"And you let them? Heyes, you know how I feel about—"

"Course I didn't let them! I told him no, that she'd have to talk to you first. But it looks like they went anyway."

"That little bastard—I'm gonna kill him when I get my hands on him," Kid's eyes flashed with fury. As if to demonstrate what they would do to Wilde, his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides; with no holster on his hip, Kid didn't know what to do with them, so they fisted and unfisted repeatedly, as though he had no control over them at all.

"Jed, please calm down. They just went for a ride. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"Sure, I'll calm down…I'll calm down after I've choked the life out of that little, lying bastard. I'm going to go look for them." Curry turned and headed back out the door. Heyes followed him. Kid's gun belt was slung over the coat hook near the front door and he reached out to grab it as he passed by.

"What are you taking that for, Jed?" Heyes said, worriedly.

"Horse thieves," was his simple reply, as he pulled it around his hips, cinching it on securely before bending over to tie down the holster.

"Horse thieves, huh?"

"Yep, horse thieves."

"Well, you wouldn't be thinking of using it on Wilde, would ya?"

Kid glared up at him. "Heyes, what do you take me for?"

"Kid, right now I take you for a very angry father. And angry fathers can do things they—and their children—regret very much later."

Kid straightened up. "Heyes, I give you my solemn promise that I ain't gonna use this gun on anybody, not even Wilde, unless I have to."

"Kid—" Heyes said, an unspoken warning drawing the word out. The promise seemed vaguely familiar to him but he couldn't quite remember where he'd heard it before.

"Listen, Heyes. I'm not going to shoot Wilde. I promise. As a matter of fact, I'm bringing my gun partly to protect him too."

"Oh? How do you figure that?"

"Well, he doesn't' wear a gun himself, now does he?" Heyes shook his head in agreement. "And with those horse thieves out there somewhere, he and Catherine could both be in a world of trouble if they happen to cross paths with those outlaws, right?" Heyes nodded in agreement. "So I'm just gonna make sure all three of us are safe. You got that?"

Heyes nodded once more and smiled thinly.

"Ok, I'll be back in a while. With Catherine."

"Well hold on, I'll go with you." Heyes tossed down his book.

"No. You stay here in case they come back."

"Ok, I'll stay on one condition."

"You're setting conditions now?"

"Yes, just one."

"Well, what is it then?"

"I'll stay here if you promise not to do anything rash. Remember, we were young once too. And young people act without thinking sometimes…driven by emotion."

"Yeah, I know that. And that's what I'm afraid of."

Heyes smiled. "Do you promise?"

Kid took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. "I promise not to do anything rash. See, I've calmed down already." He opened his cornflower blue eyes as wide as he could, shooting an innocent gaze in Heyes' direction.

"Good. Just keep telling yourself that."

Kid spun around on his good leg and left. Heyes sighed deeply. Slowly he picked his book up and tried to read but even the words of Mark Twain could not keep his mind from drifting back to his friend and his niece.

Kid Curry rode to the top of the ridge and scanned the horizon; there were no other riders anywhere in sight. He had calmed down considerably since riding off but he was still angry. He kept reminding himself to stay calm, as Heyes asked him to do, but it was taking all his self-control to do so.

'Dammit, where the hell did they get off to?' he wondered. The sky overhead looked bloated and purple. Kid knew the rain would not hold off much longer and when it came, it promised to be a gully-washer. "Catherine," he called out, as the first fat, warm drops landed on his skin. It was only a matter of seconds before the sky opened up. Kid was almost immediately soaked to the skin. He could barely see farther than a few feet in front of him. Remembering a small cave carved out beneath a nearby rock outcropping, he pushed his horse forward carefully.

A minute later, Kid and his mount were safely under cover inside the shallow cave. Safe, but not dry; his clothes cling to him wetly. All that did nothing to improve his mood, he was still angry but now he was also miserable.

"I hate thunderstorms," he grumbled, easing himself to the ground. He stretched out his aching right leg, the rain and wet seeping into his joints making his leg stiff and sore.

"If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny," he shouted, looking accusingly toward the heavens. He closed his eyes and shivered slightly in his soaked clothes. His mind wandered back into another time…

… They were alone in the shallow cave as a bolt of lightning illuminated the dark sky, for a moment flooding their sanctuary with brief, flickering light. She was sitting on his lap, their bodies pressed together, bare skin against bare skin. His head was buried against her neck, leaving a trail of kisses and nibbles from her earlobe down her smooth ivory neck to her shoulder. "I love thunderstorms," he said, his voice husky with desire, his hands gripping her hips tightly as she moved on top of him..

"I love you, Jed," the auburn haired young girl replied, moaning quietly as his kisses and his touch brought her closer to the edge of passion.

It seemed they were not the first to use this place for shelter; they had found firewood stacked inside, dry and out of the storm. After making fire, both of them had, without self-consciousness, shed their soaking wet clothes, laying them out to dry before the flames.

Jed had handed her his jacket to cover herself, knowing that even though it was wet on the outside, it was at least warm and dry inside and would provide her some modesty. But instead of putting it on, she spread the jacket out on the cold, rocky floor of the cave and, after sitting down on it, extended her hand to him, an offer to join her that after only a brief hesitation, he accepted.

Now their bodies moved in perfect harmony, each stroke pushing them higher, closer to that final brief moment of ecstasy; both reaching the summit at the same instant, as if they were two halves of the same body and soul. Gasping with pleasure and exertion, they reached and then surmounted the summit together, leaving them spent and exhausted. They shared a final hungry, but satisfied kiss and then the girl slid off his lap to lie flat on the hard ground. He moved his body around until he laid next to her, their bodies pressed together, arms and legs entwined, soaking up the warmth of the fire.

Once his breathing returned to normal, he grinned, his teeth gleaming whitely in the firelight. Nineteen years old, Jed Curry thought he was happier than he'd ever remembered being in his whole life. "I wish there was a thunderstorm every night."

The girl with her head on his chest merely sighed. "Do you really have to leave next week?" she asked, hoping somehow the answer would be different this time.

"I told you I'd only be gone a couple of weeks. I have to find my cousin; I have to make sure he's okay. He was supposed to meet me here two weeks ago, and he didn't return the telegram I sent on Monday. I've got a bad feeling…might be nothing, but I need to make sure. I told you, he's the only family I've got left in the world. Besides, he has to be best man at the wedding." He gave her a lopsided grin to lighten the mood.

"I know, and I love you all the more for caring," she said gently pulling herself up to place her lips against his for a long and tender kiss. "You'd better be back in two weeks though," she teased, holding her face just above his.

"Oh yeah? Or what? You'll go off and marry someone else?" He playfully took hold of her shoulders and rolled her onto her back, switching places with her.

The girls face suddenly became serious. "No Jed, you're the only one I'll ever want. Please be careful, I read in a newspaper in town today that there's been a lot of outlaw activity going on around Preston. Two stage coaches were robbed and then just last week a train was held up."

"I read that too," he said, turning away so she wouldn't see the look that clouded his eyes. The paper had mentioned the name Plumber, a name he'd heard Heyes mention in connection to the job he had taken in the area.

"I think the storm is letting up," she said looking past the campfire into the night. "We'd better be getting back or I'll have a lot of explaining to do to my folks."

Jed grinned. "How have you explained all of the other times you've snuck away with me?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell them you were a perfect gentleman," she laughed, "but you'd better get back here and marry me, Jed Curry, or I'll never forgive you." She narrowed her eyes and tried to give him a threatening look, but couldn't quite manage it.

"Don't worry Eliza, I'll be back, I promise…

…Thunder ripped through the sky, bringing Kid back to the present with a jolt. Outside the cave, the rain was letting up. Shaking his head to rid himself of the memories the rain storm and the cave had brought back, he slowly stood up, stretching his stiff muscles.

"Ready to head back out, girl?" he said to his horse, swinging onto her back as smoothly as his wet dungarees and bad leg would allow. Settled in the saddle, he urged her out of the cave, clicking his tongue and saying quietly, "Let's go."

As he rode out into the open he saw two riders coming towards him.

"Pa?" Catherine exclaimed as they neared. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm the one that should be asking that. I told you not—"

Even though Kid was addressing his daughter, it was Wilde who spoke next. "I'm sorry, Mr. Curry. I didn't think the storm would come in this fast."

"Pa, it's not his fault, and he was a perfect gentleman. He found shelter for us and made sure I didn't get hurt. You should be thanking him instead of accusing him like he was some scoundrel." She glared at her father.

Kid flinched at her words, remembering again what Eliza had told him all those years ago; the words 'perfect gentleman' reverberating through his mind….'perfect gentleman…perfect lie,' he thought. "We'll talk about this later. Let's all just get on back to the ranch," Kid said firmly, and turned his mount toward their home.