Winter's Refuge
Chapter Eighty-Five
HEYES
The solace in my room is comfortable, protected. Thanks to the Kid, I have two lamps. He checks often that I have enough oil when he doesn't think I can see him. Another way he protects me.
At sunrise I hear a familiar sound, muffled by the short distance to the back of the blacksmith shop. "Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang" followed by silence. Then the "bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang" again. Dr. Arden said this might be a way the Kid can control his environment, but I don't know. He's done this whenever we could afford bullets since he was fourteen years old. Then it was his way to protect the two of us. Now it's to protect all of us.
Dressing quickly, I went out to join him, taking the accounting logs for the blacksmith shop. I know that's where he'll go when he's finished. He's got a lot of work to do to catch up there. I grabbed some leftover muffins from dinner. I know he didn't eat.
I stood in back of the Kid, watching him practice. He knows I'm here. He always does.
"Heyes, awful early for you to be up," he said when he finished. Seeing the muffins, he took one and half of it disappeared in one bite. "Thanks."
Smiling, I held up the ledgers. "Thought we could get an early start on that work waiting for you in the shop."
Sighing, he looked at the back door of the shop. "Back room is full of work. The overflow's on that table in front. And that's not countin' the horses that are goin' to need shoein'."
If I thought about all the work, I knew I'd be overwhelmed and want to hide in my room. The Kid must feel the same way, but he doesn't show it.
"Lot of hard work and long days there," he said, striding toward the building. "Need to get it done. People waitin' for those things."
"I'll get it logged and organized while you start the forge."
He unlocked the back door, walked into the forge, opened the three sides, and started the fire. "Remember, horses will be done first today," he called back.
By ten, I had all the work logged in and organized in a practical way by item type. When the forge was ready, the Kid, in his heavy brown apron, grabbed the first thing he saw, a stew pot missing its handles. I was going to point out that he start with the things laid out on the table. I like order. But I tell myself order doesn't matter here. This is the Kid's dominion; I'm just here to try and make it easier for him.
JED 'KID' CURRY
I don't know how I'm ever goin' catch up with all the work. Don't know what to do except to put my head down and plow into it. I was happy Heyes was right there to help me. 'Course he can't do the actual work, but him doin' the accountin' and organizin' is a big help. I can do the hot, dirty work.
Waved to Juan as he drove the wagon into town for supplies about nine. There was no other break from the hot work until after noon and except for fixin' a hoof and shoe for one of James Anson's horses; I didn't seem to make a dent in the work. Still, I have other responsibilities and my back aches, not that I let it show. After I took off my apron and pulled the bandana from my hair, I realized how dirty I was. My fingernails had actually lost all trace of black grime durin' my travels, and now it's all back as bad as ever. Heyes left about an hour before I did. He's still healin' though; he hid in the back when Anson brought his horse.
Chrissy was rockin' Joy on the front porch but when I bent to kiss her, she said, "Dirty, go wash."
So, I pecked her gently on the forehead and headed to the stable. Rudy was anxious to show off the two new foals. Summer's Night had given us another colt and Fall's Snowdance a filly. Both were sired by Fall's Destiny at Winter's Refuge. The momma's understood their job and were very protective of their babies. Fall's Snowdance, always the calmer of the two, had stepped between her girl and Martha yesterday snarlin'. I should have been there and Martha would never have been in her stall. Thank goodness Heyes was.
I heard Juan returnin' from Three Birds. Miss Hortencia was with him. It was goin' take a lot to feed all these people. I gotta make some time for huntin' to help out.
"Jed!" Juan called me over. "Miss Chrissy asked me to talk to the sheriff about getting the twins into school there. Before I left, he told me to have you meet him at the school at three and he'll talk to the teacher with you. Seemed to think starting their formal schooling was a good thing."
I panicked. I'm covered in the black of my profession. It gets everywhere. "What time is it?"
"Almost twelve thirty."
"It got to be today?"
"Yeah, the schoolteacher is going to her home in Wyoming for Thanksgiving and leaving tonight."
"When's Thanksgivin'?" I realized I had lost all track of the calendar.
"In three days, Thursday. That's why Miss Diane Frances sent me to town today so the ladies could get started on the cooking. Going to take the wagon around to the kitchen door to unload."
Chrissy had disappeared from the porch but soon returned with the pumice soap I'd need to get really clean. "Come," she said, leadin' me down to the secluded part of the stream we used for bathin' in the summer. But she's right. It would take me multiple changes of water to even start to get clean in our bathtub. Smilin', I remembered the first time she had watched me bathe here. Today. she brought multiple towels for dryin' and for warmth.
Not lookin' forward to this, I remembered how I longed to get clean in the railroad prison camp in Arizona. Then the black grime caked onto my body for weeks until the guards would take pity and trust me to wade into the river with shackles on. The water would turn black around me. It was always quick and I never abused the privilege.
Chrissy sat on the flat rock as she had before. The water is so cold but I'm here for a reason and I remind myself of that. I need to make a good impression, act like my kids belong in the school there. And to do that I must be look clean, not like a blacksmith. Chrissy scrubs my hair for me, and I feel her massagin' fingers linger over the scars, one from the ride in the black prison wagon on the back and one from the mercantile fire in Three Birds. I've let my hair grow longer to cover them, but maybe I need a haircut before this meetin'? No time for that.
"Rinse," commands my wife. I submerge into the cold, cold water and start to shiver uncontrollably. "Enough. Out."
I don't have the strength to argue with her. She has towels ready to dry my body and my hair. My clothes have disappeared. Running ahead, she opened the kitchen door for me. I have to will my legs to move I'm so cold. Still shiverin' in the kitchen, I realize that for once it is empty…and my good shirt and pants are laid out on the table for me. While I'm buttonin' my shirt, Heyes brings my boots, significantly cleaner, in to me and hands me a pair of his socks.
"Couldn't find a decent pair of socks in your drawer, partner," he said, shakin' his head.
Chrissy had moved a chair behind me. "I buy Jed socks next time I go to Three Birds."
ASJ*****ASJ
Rudy, trailed by Michael, brought Winter's Glory around to the front door.
This time Chrissy didn't refuse my kiss and I purposely lingered in it. She was my solace. Heyes knows I'm nervous but she's the only one that knows I'm scared to go talk to the schoolteacher. What if she thinks an ex-outlaw is not the kind of parent she wants for her school. While ridin', I can still see black in my cuticles. Nothin' I can do now except try to hide them. Rain started fallin' lightly as I got into town, and I could make out Frank waitin' for me on the small porch of the school.
"Jed, good to see you back home," he said, holdin' out his hand to shake.
I couldn't avoid it, so I shook his hand. I don't think he noticed the grime.
"Let's go in. Kids left about ten minutes ago. I'll introduce you to Miss Suzanne Duhamel; she only started here in September to replace the one that got married."
Frank was in the schoolroom before I could think. Miss Duhamel was standin', back to the room, staring at the ceilin', a ceilin' with a drip. While we stood there, the drip turned into a leak, and another sprouted by the windows.
"Oh, dear, not again!" she exclaimed, as she started to tug on the heavy wooden teacher's desk directly under the increasin' flood of water.
I rushed to help her, easily pullin' it to the center of the room. Frank picked up the student's desk near the other leak and stacked them on her desk.
"Sorry, Miss Duhamel, thought we had that roof fixed," Frank apologized. "This is Jed Curry, the parent of your two new students."
She was tall for a woman, and skinny with light brown hair and a long skinny face with wire rimmed glasses. "Mr. Curry, welcome. I like to meet the parents of all of my students. I know this was short notice."
She held out her hand and I shook it before I remembered the black around my nails. She didn't seem to see it as the first leak had grown and threatened the blackboard. It rolled but it was easier just to carry it to the center of the room.
"Mr. Curry, I believe you have two children starting with us Monday. Mr. Birde has told me the girl is six?"
It was a question where I didn't know the answer. But Chrissy had sent the message to Frank and she knows their birthday.
"Yes, Martha."
"And your other child?"
"A boy, Michael."
"And how old is Michael?"
"Same age as Martha. They're twins. My wife taught them to read. And Hey…their uncle taught them their numbers and they've even had a few French lessons." It felt good to brag about my babies.
"Very good. I shall test them, of course, to see what grade level work they should be doing."
"Just start at the beginnin'. They ain't never really been to school before. 'Cuse me, Miss Duhamel, do you mind if I climb up on the roof and see how bad it is?"
I didn't wait for her approval and went outside. The school shouldn't have a bad roof. Our children learn here. Seein' a ladder on the side, I climbed to the roof. I could see where makeshift patches had been laid. But the roof was old and the nails from the patches just created more holes and potential leaks.
Frank was holdin' the ladder as I came back down.
"There someplace school can be held the next two days while I get that roof fixed?"
"Jed, you don't have to. With Miss Duhamel taking the rest of the week off, there's no school. And the City Council's been talking about replacing it…"
"City Council pay someone to put on those patches that are leakin'?"
"Well, yes."
"I'll go talk to Jeff at the mercantile right now and get the materials and fix that roof right tomorrow, rain or shine."
HEYES
The Kid came back from Three Birds soaking wet and shivering, announcing that we were going to fix the roof of the schoolhouse the next day.
"Jed, you go upstairs and change into dry clothes before you tell us about this new project," Auntie demanded, pointing to the water dripping on the floor. "Haven't you got enough work to do without taking on something else?"
She's right but I'd never tell Kid that. Dr. Arden told me that helping others is his way of coping, of healing.
He's still shivering when he comes down, bootless and barefoot. Auntie just motions him to the chair in the main room next to the fire and hands him a cup of hot broth.
"Thanks, Auntie," he says, still shivering. I was on alert when I heard him cough. I've been through many winter colds and bouts of the flu that hit him harder than me.
"Heyes, would you ask Juan and Rudy to come in?"
Telling us his plan, I was impressed that it was so well thought out. We weren't looking for the holes and fixing them. We were tearing off the whole leaking, rotting roof and laying a new one. This was a one room school with a small teacher's apartment in the rear. With his plan, it could easily be finished tomorrow. Jeff and his brother Gabe Birde would be helping us.
"Like to help, too, if there's some way I could be of use." Ken Josephs stood in the doorway, leaning on his cane. I could tell from his expression he was begging to be useful.
Smiling, the Kid answered, "Always grateful for more help. Need someone on the ground to organize the supplies and make sure everyone knows what they should be doing. You up for that?" The Kid somehow always knows just what to say to make everyone feel good and this was no exception.
"Count me in."
"Any way I can help," Dr. Arden asked, leading Ken to a chair.
"Hope we don't need your professional services, Aiden, but if you can hit a nail with a hammer, you're welcome," the Kid told him. "If you need help, Heyes can show you how." He finished with a wink and a grin. I nodded back remembering Wickenburg.
"You just mind your own thumbs, Kid," I teased. And it felt good to have our teasing banter back again.
ASJ*****ASJ
The roof was well thought out and was done in a long day. Really, the Kid had organized it, but he left the onsite leadership to Ken. Haven't seen Ken this happy since he bought the acreage next to Phoenix.
There were two casualties. The first was Marshal Ken, even though he's not a marshal anymore around here the name stuck. Gabe Birde dropped a hammer from the roof.
"Watch out!" Gabe yelled. Ken looked up but couldn't move fast enough and the spinning hammer hit the side of his head. Off balance he crumbled to the floor.
Each of us rushed to him but the Kid, who'd been up highest on the roof moved the quickest and got there first. Picking Ken up, he carried him away from the construction.
"Jed, put me down. Moving makes me dizzy."
Dr. Arden was already looking at the wound before Ken was settled in a chair.
"Heyes, get my black bag. Someone fetch water and clean bandages."
Dr. Arden was quick and efficient and told us the row of tiny stitches would only leave a tiny scar. He had washed his hands with water then alcohol and made the anyone who was helping him do the same.
When the doctor had finished, Ken said, "Thank you, doctor. Why's everyone standing around. Let's get back to work. We got a roof to build."
With Dr. Arden's caution to Ken not to stand under where men were working, we went back to work.
Dr. Arden seemed to really enjoy the physical work of working on the roof. After seeing the delicate stitches he had put into Ken, I was worried about him injuring his hands…hands that heal others.
I was right to worry. The second casualty was Dr. Arden. He was handling the hammer very efficiently until he was distracted by a conversation with Gabe Birde. Then the good doctor hammered the nail into his own hand. I've heard doctors are bad patients and so it started out to be with him.
"OW…OW…Oh, help me…OW!" he screamed so loud the whole town could hear him. I was on the far side of the roof, but it looked to me like he was going to faint.
Of course, the Kid was the first one to him.
"Easy, Aiden, I got you," the Kid said, supporting him.
"It hurts, Jed! Oh, it hurts!"
"Get Dr. Sexton," the Kid ordered no one specifically.
"Know it hurts, Aiden, but got to get you to the ground." As gently as he could, he put Dr. Arden over his shoulder. I marveled how he went down the ladder with his burden.
Jeff Birde came running back. "Dr. Sexton said to bring him to his office."
Dr. Arden walked there with the Kid supporting him. "Ow…ow!"
JED 'KID' CURRY
I feel bad for Aiden. He ain't never really known physical pain in his life although he's real good at doctorin' it. He stopped screamin' and looked around.
"Where's your clean room, Dr. Sexton?"
"Clean room? There's no need for that. That they help is just a myth, a fad." Sexton dismissed his comments.
Aiden pulled his hand back when Sexton reached for it. "Can't help you unless you let me see that hand," Sexton said impatiently.
I looked around the room again seein' it clearer than I ever had before. There were dark stains on the wall behind the bed. Was that from blood? In addition to the dirty sheet coverin' the exam table, there was a layer of dust on the table and the doctor's instruments laid out there. In my mind I was comparin' it to Aiden's immaculate space, even in a prison.
"No!" Aiden cradled his injured hand in the other.
"Sheriff Birde, Mr. Curry, tell this man to give me his hand or I can't help him."
Frank moved between the two men of medicine, so different from one another. "Well, Dr. Arden is a mighty fine doctor in his own right."
I nodded my agreement.
"I'll do it myself if Jed will help me," Aiden said. Lookin' around, he sat down suddenly.
"Not in MY office you won't. Out!" He looked at Frank with his nephews Jeff and Gabe standin' behind him. "And if this is what the Birdes think of my work, I intend on hangin' my shingle in another town!"
Aiden looked near to passin' out and Frank led the way to the jail. I more than half carried him. The doctor talked all the way. "Wash your hands, Jed. Wash everything and then wash it again with alcohol. Cut off the head of the nail. It's through the soft part hand as it is. Rinse everything in alcohol. Everything again. Then push it through and out. Pack it with clean bandages and wrap it tight."
I thought of the remnants of black still under my nails and my cuticles. "Sorry, Aiden, can't do it. Can't get my hands clean enough." I held one in front of him just as Frank handed him a very full glass of whiskey. "Heyes'll have to do it."
"Drink this down fast, Doctor."
Aiden stopped talkin' long enough to empty the glass and looked around. "Where am I?"
"In the best cell in my jail," Frank told him. Refillin' the glass and puttin' it in Aiden's good hand and pushin' it toward his mouth. He drank it.
I could see the panic in Heyes eyes when I volunteered him. He even took two steps backwards towards the door. But then I saw somethin' else. Not sure if it was courage or determination, but he nodded at me and started washin' his hands in the small porcelain dish near the stove. Frank poured alcohol over my partner's hands and then refilled Aiden's glass again.
When Frank was finished, Heyes did as Aiden had instructed. When he pushed the nail through, Aiden passed out. Heyes' hands were busy, but me and Jeff made sure the doctor stayed on the jailhouse cot.
Heyes had just about finished bandagin' Aiden's hand when Beverly Birde burst into the office carryin' her son.
"Frank, I need to talk to you."
"In a minute, dear."
"No, now. I was takin' our boy to Dr. Sexton for his check up and he was packin'!" She switched the baby to her other arm. "Said he doesn't get the respect his position demands and he's leavin' on the stage in two days. And he doesn't have time to see any patients because he's packin'."
In silence, we all just stared at her until Frank said, "Good riddance!"
It was what we were all thinkin'.
A small smile crossed Miss Beverly's face. "Agreed, but we're a growing town. We need a doctor."
A very drunk Aiden sat up on the couch and waved his injured hand at us. "I'm a doctor! May I help you?" Sittin' up was too much for him and he fell back into the cot and slept until dinner time.
ASJ*****ASJ
The roof was finished without any more accidents and I went home dead tired.
That night as we laid in bed holdin' each other, Chrissy and I talked. Turns out we both had somethin' big on our minds.
The light was dim so we could check on Joy Christina in the night if we needed to.
"Chrissy, do you think Juan is doin' a good job here?" I asked.
I could feel her freeze in my arms, but I could see her eyes were lookin' at me. "Very good," she answered.
"I don't think he's very happy about managin' the livery and livin' in that little white house near all of Miss Hortencia's family."
"He not happy. He do for her…for love," Chrissy answered.
"I was thinkin' we could make him the foreman here at Phoenix. Maybe build a little house for them somewhere on the property? 'Course we have to ask Heyes, but what do you think?"
Even in the soft light I could see her smile. "Jed good man. I say yes. Heyes say yes, too." She hugged me tight. I started to cuddle her to me for the night, but she pulled away. But she wasn't lookin' at me.
"Chrissy darlin'?"
She turned her back to me and started talkin' quickly. "Want to give Winter's Refuge to Jose and Marina. This my home…our home. We stay here."
She said it so fast she was out of breath when she finished. Lettin' her still face away from me, I slid my arms around her and kissed the back of her neck.
"Winter's Refuge belongs to you, darlin'. You can do with it as you will."
"My pa and ma tried to give them half at first," Chrissy added.
"I know and I think it's a very generous idea. You could tell them after the weddin'."
"Need ask Heyes," she said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. I didn't disagree. So, I kissed her again and let nature take its course.
ASJ*****ASJ
We celebrated Thanksgiving with two wild turkeys I shot. Auntie Diane Francis spent days preparin' the side dishes and desserts, often with Miss Hortencia's help. Jeff confided in me that they were worried his confident cousin would never find a match. But she did and the Birde family was lookin' forward to Juan joinin' the family. Heyes had agreed enthusiastically, and Juan was now the new foreman of Phoenix Ranch. Miss Hortencia was so proud of him she couldn't stop smilin'. They had Thanksgiving with her folks and again with us.
So, we had a lot to be thankful for this year. I watched Heyes sittin' with me, a free man with amnesty and gave thanks. And gave thanks for my Chrissy, my strength, my life. She believes I'm a far better man than I am, and I strive every day to become that man. And I gave thanks for our three little blessin's - Martha, Michael and Joy Christina. For reasons I don't understand, I have a wonderful group of family and friends sharin' Thanksgivin' dinner with me. I need to work harder to provide for them and keep them safe.
School resumed the Monday after Thanksgivin' and our twins started school that day. Martha and Michael wore the store-bought clothes that Miss Tina had bought to their first day of school, but not the shoes. They said they were stiff and they couldn't play in them. I was nervous.
"Chrissy darlin', maybe Juan or Rudy should take the twins to school in the wagon," I said as she was breastfeedin' the baby. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
"Wagon, yes. Juan, Rudy, no. You," she replied.
"I been thinkin' about that. Havin' an outlaw and an ex-convict for a Pa will be a burden. The other kids will find out eventually, but not on their first day."
Chrissy stared at me. She didn't freeze but I knew she was angry at me, but I didn't know why. I can stare down anyone in a gunfight but not my wife.
"Darlin'?"
"Jed Curry good man, moral man, caring man. You go to prison. Paid more than debt you owed. Children proud of their pa. I proud and respect my husband. YOU take them to school."
I looked down at my shoes for a minute before answerin' my amazin' wife. "It makes me feel good that's the way you see me, but not everybody sees me through your love. But I'll work hard so others forget what I was." I walked over and kissed her on the head. "I hope you know how much I love you. I will do anything for you and that includes drivin' our little ones to school myself."
ASJ*****ASJ
Michael and Martha were so anxious about school that they scrambled from the wagon before I even got it all the way stopped. I wanted to call them back for a hug but didn't want to embarrass them, so let them run and join the other children playin' in the school yard.
I was about to continue on to the mercantile when a voice called me back. "Mr. Curry. Oh, Mr. Curry." Suzanne Duhamel, the schoolmarm was runnin' toward me.
"Good mornin', ma'am," I answered, grabbin' my hat from my head.
"Won't you join us for a moment in the classroom?"
Every nerve in my body screamed no. This was like bein' called into the headmaster's office at the Home. But I forced a smile, sayin', "Yes, ma'am. Problem with the roof?"
She had turned away and was headin' for the door. All the children had vanished inside. What had I done wrong on the roof? Had we not cleaned up well enough afterwards and a child got hurt on an errant nail or board? My heart beat faster but I didn't let it show.
"Surprise!" All the kids yelled at me, and the twins ran to me with big smiles.
"Pa look, all the kids wrote messages to you on the blackboard," explained Martha, pullin' at my shirt to pick her up.
Michael was yankin' on my hand on the other side. "And they each wrote you a letter, too."
"Indeed, they did Mr. Curry," said a well-dressed, rotund man standin' in the front of the class.
I was still confused at the excited students around me.
"And, Pa, there's sugar cookies, too," Martha said, so seriously that I had to smile.
Miss Duhamel came over to me and brought me to the front of the room where I stood by the man. "Mr. Curry, this is Mr. Branson Wyatt. Mr. Wyatt, Jed Curry."
I held out my hand and he shook it warmly. "Nice to meet the man that finally got this town organized enough to get a new roof on this place. I've been on the City Council for two years and all we do is argue about where the money is going to come from to do it and when's the best time of year. You cut through all of that and just got it done. Thank you."
"Mr. Wyatt brought the cookies," Martha added, still by my side. "Miss Duhamel, may we have the cookies now?"
She was smilin' at Martha. "Yes, each child may have ONE. And Martha, please bring one for your pa," she said smilin'.
I turned and looked at the blackboard. Each kid child had signed it and left a message or drawn a picture. I studied it close so I could describe it to Chrissy. Across the top in nice, neat letters it said, "For our School Hero, Mr. Curry. Thank you."
Below were the children's messages and I took the time to read each one. My favorites were the two in the lower right-hand corner, squeezed in among the others. The first one read, "I'm proud of you, Pa." It was signed 'Martha Curry' in small, precise printed letters. The other read, "To Pa, my hero…Michael Curry." The letters were messy, but the words touched my heart.
"Pa," Martha said. "Pa, here's your cookie!"
I got down on one knee and received the hugs I'd been longin' for when I dropped them off.