Chapter 14

Heyes found Kid sitting at the kitchen table, staring morosely into a half empty cup of cold black coffee, reheated from their noon meal. He hadn't moved from the spot since he and the two young people had returned to the ranch, more than an hour ago. Kid had come straight to the kitchen, Wilde had gone back to work, and Catherine had stomped upstairs without a word, slamming the door to her room loudly. As for Heyes, he was left not knowing what to do. He was coming to realize that figuring out how to stay one step ahead of the law was a lot easier than figuring out how to deal with family problems.

He fired a question at his friend. "What's eating you anyway?"

Kid glanced his way, eyes cold as steel. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, I don't mean just this. You've been acting strange every since Catherine got here. I don't understand it, you were so anxious to have her visit."

"Well, things just haven't worked out like I expected."

"Kid, you and I both know that things rarely work out like we expect them to. You have to deal with things as they came."

"Yeah, I guess…I just wanted to be the kind of father she could look up to."

"Who says you're not?" Heyes looked into his partner's face with a steady gaze.

"Come on Heyes, I was a bank robber, a gunfighter, I held up trains, and…I wasn't there for her...or Eliza."

It pained Heyes to see his oldest friend in such misery, in part because he knew he was more than a little responsible for Kid's past, but his face didn't reveal any emotion. Instead, he merely continued to look directly at his friend. "Alright, that's true, but the governor of Wyoming saw fit to give you amnesty for the crimes and Eliza has forgiven you—hasn't she?"

Kid shrugged and looked away.

"Well, hasn't she?" Heyes pressed.

"Well…yeah, she said she did."

"And Catherine, she sure was excited to come here to get to know you, wasn't she?"

Curry shrugged again and turned away.

"What about your name? She wanted to use your name, didn't she?"

The other man nodded in mute agreement.

"Kid, there's only one person here that's got a problem with your past." Heyes continued to stare at his friend's back for a minute before continuing. "I'm going to into Cheyenne tomorrow for a couple of days. The two-year-olds that Gibbs wants to buy are ready to be delivered."

"Fine," Kid muttered.

"And while I'm there, I think I'll see if I can't find out something about Wilde's past that would tell us what he might be up to here."

The last comment got Curry's attention and he spun around giving his friend a questioning look.

"For what it's worth, I think you're right about him. He's not who he claims to be, and he hasn't been honest with us."

"Now you see it? Took you long enough."

"I admit it. You were right. The boy lied outright to Catherine, telling her I approved of their riding off today. And it's not just Catherine. I'd also like to know the real reason Denton fired him. There's something that just doesn't ring true with his version of things. Clay said he mentioned some places in Cheyenne where he'd worked and some people he knew there, so…I thought I'd poke around a little; see what I can dig up."

Kid nodded and gave his partner a rueful smile. "You'd better come up with something, because I'm not sure how long I can keep from strangling that little…"

Heyes laughed and slapped his friend on the back. "You'll do fine; just keep an eye on him. If we send him packing now, you'll have a mess of ruffled feathers to deal with," he said with a grin. "And keep an eye out for those horse thieves, wherever they are," he added more seriously.

"I will," Curry nodded solemnly, "good luck."

"Thanks, but maybe you better keep the luck," Heyes smiled. "I'm not the one who has to stay here and handle—" he looked up toward Catherine's room where they could hear her stomping around.

"Gee thanks, Heyes, you always did give me the 'easy' jobs."

"Don't mention it, partner. What are friends for?"

The following morning at breakfast, Catherine refused to speak to her father, which left him feeling isolated and alone. Heyes had woke before sun-up and left for Cheyenne so it was just him and his daughter at the breakfast table, making for a decidedly unpleasant meal. She had eaten hurriedly and cleared her dishes, leaving him to finish alone, with only his thoughts to keep him company. His mind kept going back to what Heyes had said to him the day before—about him being the only one who had a problem with his past. He wanted to believe those words but couldn't quite find it within himself to do so. But he realized that, at that moment, he was more interested in the future than the past; the future meaning two days from now when Heyes got back with information that would help him show Catherine what sort of man Wilde really was.

In the meantime, he wanted to try to make amends with his daughter, if possible. With a long sigh, he stood and headed upstairs. He found her sitting alone in her room looking out the window. She didn't turn around when he entered—the temperature in the room seemed several degrees cooler than the rest of the house. He sat down on her bed, fingering the pattern sewn into the quilt, and waited a minute or two to see if she would acknowledge his presence. She didn't.

He broke the silence tentatively. "I have to go into town. Thought you might like to ride with me?"

She turned and gave her father a withering look. "Why? So I won't be alone here with Jeremiah?"

"No, I just thought you might like to go. The hat you ordered from Mrs. Garvey should be in by now. And anyway, you wouldn't be alone with Wilde. He's going to be busy all day working out in the north pasture with Clay."

They sat in heavy silence for a few moments; then Kid pushed himself off the bed, the old bedsprings creaking noisily. "I'll be leaving for town in about twenty minutes, if you want to come."

She chewed on her lower lips thoughtfully before her grudging reply: "Alright, I'll go to town, but I'm still mad at you."

Kid nodded grimly. "Fair enough. I'll get the wagon hitched up."

The drive into town was no livelier than the conversation at the breakfast table had been. Kid made a few attempts at conversation but was rewarded by curt, monosyllabic answers in return and finally gave up trying. The two of them rode the rest of the way in an uneasy silence. After what seemed like an eternity had passed, they pulled up in front of the millenary. Kid dropped down to the ground and went around to his daughter's side of the wagon to offer her his hand. She had the courtesy to take it. "I have a few things to do in town but I could go with you first if you wanted me to," he offered, somewhat hopefully.

"No thank you. I'll be fine on my own."

He sighed, not wishing to argue the point. "Fine. I'll meet you back here in about an hour, alright?"

"Fine," she said simply and turned her back on him, on her way into the store.

Kid shook his head in dismay. 'How am I going to get through to her?'

After seeing that the horses were tended to, he headed for the mercantile. Emma looked up from her work when he came in, setting the little bell above the door tinkling, and smiled warmly at him. He smiled back at her. "Just need a few things today," he said lightly. "Can you fill this order while I go do a couple of other things?"

"Well, sure, just let me see your list." She took the paper from his hand and scanned it quickly. "We have all of this in. When do you need it?"

"About an hour?" Kid asked.

"No problem," she assured him. He nodded politely, and started to turn away from her. "Oh, Mr. Curry, I wanted to tell you how glad I was that you came to the social after all. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk more that evening, but…well, you know."

"Sure. I know."

"Well, this is the first time I've seen you since that night, and…well…I just wanted to tell you that I was glad you decided to come."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you. I've been busy out at the ranch."

"With your daughter," Emma smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," Kid said flatly, turning toward the door. "I'll be back in about an hour," he called over his shoulder.

"Okay," she called after him, disappointment showing on her face.

Fifteen minutes after dropping his list off at the mercantile, Kid walked purposefully into the saloon. Genevieve saw him enter but stayed at the bar, giving him a look that said she'd been neglected and he'd have to make it up to her. To her astonishment and irritation, he only nodded to her and headed for a table in the back. She stared after him as she got up and followed him to the table.

"Gonna be in town long, Kid?" she asked suggestively.

"No, not long," he answered matter-of-factly, avoiding making eye contact with her.

"Well, can I get you started on a drink then?"

"Nope, I'm waiting for someone."

She ran her index fingertip along his exposed neck, "Well, if you change your mind…"

"I won't be changing it," he said coldly.

Genevieve's finger stopped in mid-stroke; she pulled her hand away and fisted it at her side, angry at his rejection. She spun on her heel, skirts flaring around her knees and in her haste, nearly bumped headlong into the man who'd just walked up behind her.

"Watch it," she snarled, pushing past him. The man merely tipped his light gray hat and slid into the chair across from Kid.

"Well?" Kid asked anxiously.

The man glanced nervously around the room, looking for familiar faces. He leaned toward Kid over the small table and kept his voice low. "If Mr. Denton knew I was talking to you, he'd fire me on the spot. I'm taking a big risk here for you."

"I realize that. You know I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well…I couldn't find out much. Nobody at the ranch has any evidence against you about those horses that came up missing, but they all think it musta been you and Heyes; maybe trying to get back at the boss 'cause he gave you a hard time over the water rights when the river changed."

"He really believes we'd steal a coupla horses? After all we went through to get that amnesty?" Curry asked incredulously.

"Well, now that you put it that way, it don't seem likely," the other man agreed.

"What about Jeremiah Wilde?" Curry asked, lowering his voice.

"That kid? I didn't get to know him very well, but the boss didn't trust him."

"Why?"

"He was the last man out riding by where the two horses disappeared. Then the boss tried to check out his references and he couldn't. It was like the guy didn't exist. When he heard Wilde was out at your place, well, he figured maybe he was working for you all along."

Kid drummed his fingers on the tabletop, thinking hard. "You're sure no one at Denton's place is trying to set us up?"

"No way in hell. Mr. Denton would never allow a thing like that. He's about the most honest man I've ever met. I ain't never seen him do a dishonest dealing the whole time I been working for him."

If the light hadn't been so bad in the saloon, the other man could have seen how dark Kid Curry's eyes had become. "Thanks, Frank," he said after a minute.

"Sure thing, Kid. Hey, this makes us even, right? I mean you won't tell Mr. Denton how I rode with you guys on the one train job that time? 'Cause he don't allow no law breakers to work for him."

"Frank, I never woulda told him 'bout that. A man's past is his own business. You've proved yourself to everybody—you ain't broke the law in ten years."

"Thanks, Kid. And you won't tell nobody I said nuthin' either?"

"No Frank, I won't," Curry said dully.

"Okay, I'll be seeing you," Frank said quickly as he stood and hurried out of the saloon, his hat pulled low over his eyes.

Alone, Kid spent a few minutes thinking about what he'd like to do to Jeremiah Wilde and wondering if his daughter would ever forgive him if he did. He was so deep in thought that he didn't look up when Genevieve returned and sat down at the table.

"You look kinda down, Kid. Isn't there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"No, Genevieve," he said firmly, "there isn't." He rose slowly and reached for his cane, where it stood propped against the table. He miscalculated and knocked it to the floor. He waited a moment, expecting her to pick the cane up for him, but she only took a step back and gave him an angry glare. 'Fine,' he thought, 'if that's the way you want it.' Easing himself back into his chair, he leaned over to retrieve the cane. The few other saloon patrons had turned curious stares his way. Under their watchful eyes, he pushed himself up using the table and cane for assistance. He hated the awkwardness more than the pain his leg caused; despising his own weakness and the looks of pity that were cast his way.

Stepping out onto the street, Kid was surprised to see Catherine waiting for him holding her hat box. "I told them you'd be in to pay for it later," she said in an odd tone, staring past him toward the saloon.

"Oh, okay, that's fine," he said, hoping the new hat would cheer her up.

"Who's that?" Catherine asked; her tone accusing.

"Who's who?" Kid glanced back and frowned at the sight of Genevieve standing just outside the door waving coyly at him.

"Bye now, Kid, don't stay away so long next time," she said with a suggestive lilt in her voice.

"Just a friend," he said uncomfortably, unable to look his daughter in the face; even so, he could hear the hurt and anger in her voice.

"You have NO right to lecture me on proper conduct between men and women." She spun around and stalked off down the street, her back stiff with rage and upset.

Kid watched her walk away; then glared back at Genevieve, who wore a look of smug satisfaction on her face. She put her fingers to her lips and blew him an exaggerated kiss. His eyes stayed glued to the woman for a moment longer; all he felt was disgust…for her and for himself. He turned to follow his daughter, his step slower and less sure than hers had been.