Winter's Refuge

Chapter Seventy-Two

JED 'KID' CURRY

I could see this place affectin' Heyes. He was fightin' to stay out of his mind, so I sent him back to Cheyenne with the governor. And I'm worried about the twins sightseein' in Cheyenne. They haven't been to Three Birds except for church on Sundays and once or twice to town with me.

I know how Heyes felt because I feel like these walls are closin' in on me. I recognize some of the guards that escorted us to Aiden's office…and I know they recognized me. I wasn't supposed to live through that night in prison. I know that Warden Fitzjohn had paid many of the guards to see to that. The guard that whacked me with a billy club earlier today was one of the worst. I could see the delight in his eyes today when he hit me. With the governor and Heyes gone, I am alone in the offices. Locked in like any prisoner, just in a bigger cell. I can't leave even if I wanted to. Aiden has as big a selection of medical journals here as he does in his kitchen at home. But I found a few novels and tried to read.

Aiden came in about an hour or so after they left. I have no way of tellin' time in here. The bleak gloom of this place threatens to settle into my soul. And I know he sees that in my eyes. "Warden Mays ordered peaches for everyone for dessert in honor of the birth."

I tried to smile but I was trying to figure out if he really wanted to celebrate Joy or thought it would impress the governor. I hoped a little of both. "Thank him from me and Chrissy."

"Jed, I'm sorry you're alone in here. Perhaps you should have left with Charles and Heyes. Chrissy and Joy are resting and in very capable hands, if I must say so myself." He grinned at his words.

"No doubt about that. Couldn't ask in front of her, but is Chrissy really alright? Is Joy healthy? She's so tiny."

"It was a hard labor for Chrissy, her stress at being here added to that. She's exhausted but so far physically fine. Remember she suffered years of sexual abuse in that prison. I wasn't sure she could conceive, but she did. Didn't know if she could carry to term, she just about did that. We don't know what is going on internally with her, wish I had a way to tell. There's been some blood but I think we can disregard that. She's tried to nurse the baby already. She feels the confinement of this place depressing and the fact that Joy was born in a prison very upsetting. I am hoping she can leave tomorrow."

I nodded.

He continued, "Your daughter was born only a few weeks early I would guess. She's perfect in every way, alert already. No worries there."

"Thank you, Aiden." I held out my hand and he shook it hard. And saw me wince.

"I had planned to be present for the baby's birth, I just didn't expect it to be now."

He rolled up my sleeve as he spoke and saw the bites of the billy club on my arm.

I ignored his look. "She's beautiful," I said more to myself than him.

"Joy or Chrissy?"

"Both of them."

He started fussing around until he found what he was lookin' for in his medical bag. "Let me clean that and bandage it then you can come in for a quick visit now. But it will be quick as I have a prisoner coming for his visit in less than twenty minutes.

Chrissy was layin' down sleepin', huggin' our daughter close to her side. As I watched, Aiden whispered, "We're not set up for babies here, no cribs or cradles."

I gently kissed Chrissy's hair and did the same to Joy.

"More later. I'm afraid we have to leave."

I followed Aiden back into the hallway and this guard smiled at me. "Nice to have a wee one here. Brightens the whole place up."

Aiden pointed to his private office and I went in there, but he didn't close the door. I found my novel, but my thoughts were of the two I had just seen sleepin' so sweetly. I didn't have a cradle ready for Joy either. And what of the other things a new baby needs? What does a new baby need? Again, the empty sadness of missin' Michael and Martha's births hit me. Did either of them look like Joy when they were born? Was there a crib waitin' for them in the Colorado Penitentiary?

"Jed?" Aiden's voice broke me away from my thoughts. "I'd like you to come into my office and sit with this prisoner for a minute while I check on something in the wards. His hands are free, but his legs are shackled. He's no threat to you but I can't leave him alone. The guards would come in, but I think sitting with a civilian would keep him calm."

"Sure, if you want," I answered, confused.

The door to the hall, the back door of his office was closed. When he opened it, he went in first. I followed and could see the back of the shaved head of the prisoner.

"Mr. Curry," he said, tryin' to stand, but trippin' some with his ankle shackles.

It took me a minute to recognize Matt in prison uniform with a shaved head and a black eye and jaw.

"Matt!" I reached out and steadied him.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, but you must talk quietly," warned Aiden.

I could see his orientation had been a difficult one. He was a repeat offender here and the guards knew they had him for life.

"Mr. Curry..."

"It's Jed. Remember, we're family now."

"Don't think anyone would want to be related to the McWinters," he said sadly.

'I don't know about that. I married one."

"Wanted to ask. We all heard the woman and someone said she came to visit and ended up havin' a baby. Was that…"

"Chrissy, yes. And our daughter's name is Joy Christina."

He grinned. "Joy, I like that. But I can't have visitors for a long time, even longer 'cause I got into a fight," he finished almost sheepishly.

"Well, I did a favor for the governor, and he asked what I wanted in thanks. I told him Chrissy wanted to visit you before she had the baby because when you can have visitors, she should have been busy havin' the baby."

"Must have been some favor you did for him."

"Saved his life," I answered embarrassed. But Matt was family and I had vowed to tell the truth to family. "Chrissy and I will be here every month to visit you, too."

"I remember her sayin' that but didn't really believe it."

I looked him in the eyes. "Remember both of us have served time. We know what a difference a visit to look forward to can make. Anything you want us to bring next time? Food? A book?"

He grinned. "Any food that Chrissy don't cook. Ain't much of a reader but I'll try a book, one with a lot of adventure. Thank you."

"It's hard but keep your nose clean in here. Stay to yourself. Don't make trouble."

"How did you stay sane in prison? The walls push in on you, don't they?"

"Volunteered to learn blacksmithin' in the middle of the Arizona desert heat and lay railroad tracks."

Matt studied me for a minute. "At least you were outside." And I understood how someone who had lived free on a large ranch hurt to be confined here.

Aiden stuck his head in. "The governor promised Chrissy could visit with her brother. She can't do that in a traditional visiting room right now but if you come this way, we'll see what we can do."

Matt's eyes lit up as I helped him stand up. I understood that Aiden was puttin' a lot of trust in me…and Matt. The guard at the door looked at Matt sharply. "Quiet voice. No sudden moves."

"Yes, sir." Still the enforced use of that word made the hairs on my neck stand up.

"And Doctor, ten minutes, no more."

Aiden led us to Chrissy. The curtain around her bed had been opened so the guards could keep an eye on Matt. But he wasn't about to do anything but see his sister and Joy. Chrissy handed her to him when he was settled in the chair next to her bed. At first, he tried to push the baby back at Chrissy, but finally held her closely in his arms.

"Never thought I'd see any of your kids, bein' in here. She's part of the next generation." He couldn't take his eyes off of the little hand floatin' around. "She's beautiful, Chrissy."

'She is. You good?" Chrissy touched his bruised jaw. "Matt, no fight. Be good, please!" she pleaded.

"I'll do my best. Already had that speech from Mr. C…er, Jed," Matt answered. "Don't tell her about me. Don't tell her what we done." He kept his eyes on Joy who happily cooed at his attention.

Chrissy had frozen for a moment. I saw it. So did Aiden.

"Joy hear good about Uncle Matt only," she answered.

"Time to go," Aiden said as he took the baby and returned her to her mother's arms.

"I love you, Sissy." Matt bent over and kissed her on the cheek. Chrissy had told me once that her younger brothers had called her Sissy for years because Matt couldn't say Chrissy. Their parents thought it was cute and let it continue.

She smiled at the childhood nickname. "Good. Love you, too. Be careful."

LOM

Riding a horse caused untold pain in my leg and higher. I tried but wasn't much help in righting the buggy I had borrowed from Aiden. It must have rolled over slowly , although they were dirty, the twins were unhurt. Martha had a scratch on her cheek, but it had stopped bleeding.

Relieved when Heyes suggested I drive Aiden's buggy, I tied Stardrop to the back. Before we left, me and Heyes looked at the tracks to see if we could tell what spooked the horse. All we saw was the chicken scratch tracks of a prairie chicken and a rabbit.

Michael was quiet and contrite on the ride back, but Martha talked about their 'adventure' as she called it. They had pulled boxes over and stood on them to get the horse ready and attach him to the wagon. I thought they had planned their exit throught the back grasslands but the horse had bolted that way and they had all they could do to hold on. And the horse knew just where the main road was to be found. It was all going well until the horse spooked. .

When he got to the stables at the governor's mansion, Heyes was waiting with his hands on his hips and no expression on his face. I'd seen that posture many times at Devil's Hole and I never wanted to be on the receiving end of what he was about to say.

To my surprise, he only pointed and said, "Go to your room." And the two little ones did as he said with heads down.

"Lom, you okay?" Heyes asked.

I knew I was leaning heavily on my cane. The stairs up to the door looked like an unclimbable mountain.

I was so tired, I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. Heyes was at my side, arm around my body helping me up the stairs. Governor Sanderson and his wife were waiting for us. At a nod from him, his bodyguard took over for Heyes and helped me to a seat in the formal sitting room. They wanted to send for the doctor, but all I want to do is sleep.

Heyes was pacing nervously in front of me, talking quietly to himself. Finally, he noticed me watching him.

"Lom, I have to discipline the twins. What they did was wrong. I know that. But if I discipline them wrong, the Kid will be mad at me…mad at me." He was talking to me but actually talking to himself. It was then I realized as much as he seemed to be back to normal, he was not. He was deeply dependent on the Kid and his approval. The Kid was his safety net and now he was afraid of upsetting him and he was on the verge of hiding in his mind.

"Heyes."

"I can't let the Kid be mad at me. I don't want to leave my family. Now that I have amnesty, he might ask me to leave."

'HEYES!"

Shocked out of his revelry, he looked at me. I was relieved that his eyes were clear and attentive.

"Ask Mrs. Clark to come in here and we can discuss what punishment the Kid and Chrissy might have used."

It was a quick meeting. We just decided to do what the Kid had done last time. Send them to their room and let them think about it until their pa came home and talked to them.

That decided, I decided to retire to my room. I had done too much but I didn't regret coming. A room had been set up for me on the first floor. I turned down an offer of dinner, took some of the pain medicine I had brought with me, and fell into a deep medicated dreamless sleep.

HEYES

I know the twins have to be punished for running away. Although they weren't really running away; they were running to their parents. Still, it was wrong. Me and Lom and Auntie discussed their punishment while Miss Tina tried to veto everyone. Finally, it was decided on the punishment the Kid had given them. They were to have only a light dinner, none of the fancy desserts available in the governor's mansion. And they were to stay in their room until their pa came home and talked to them. I told them to think about what they had done and what could have happened to them.

They didn't say much about the punishment or the fact that the guards had nailed the windows in their bedroom shut. They were too excited about the arrival of a baby sister. They bubbled over with all the things that they were going to teach her. I had brought them a deck of cards, but stopped and listened to them from their bedroom door.

"How to collect eggs and feed Joe and NotJoe." Martha checked it off on her fingers.

"And how to climb out her bedroom windows when she needs to leave for something very important," Michael had added to their list.

"Don't think your ma or pa would approve of you teaching her that," I said firmly.

Four guilty eyes, two green and two blue, snapped to mine. "Uncle Heyes, you aren't supposed to be listenin' to us!" Martha complained. I noticed she had picked up the Kid's habit of forgetting his 'g's at the end of his words. When we got back home, I'd work on that with her.

"But I was listening, and you mustn't teach her anything that they would not approve of her doing. She's just a very tiny baby right now. You can look at her, but she doesn't do much."

"Can she talk?"

"Not for a long time."

I peeked in on them again after dinner time and found them sitting at a little table with a full dinner in front of them with chocolate cake for dessert. Doggie had his own seat at the table. It didn't look to me like a punishment, it looked like a party.

I stood in the doorway with my arms crossed, trying to imitate their pa.

"Uncle Heyes, come sit down!" Martha exclaimed as Michael moved doggie onto his lap.

"This is a light punishment dinner?"

Feeling guilty, they each looked down at their plates. Michael took a handful of the chocolate cake and pushed it into his mouth.

"And that punishment included no dessert!" I added gruffly.

Martha took a dainty bite of her cake, and I could tell she savored the sweetness. "The butler just brought it. We didn't ask for it," she explained sounding innocent.

"And Mrs. Clark and Aunt Lily said it's wrong to waste food," added her brother, talking with the cake in his mouth.

I didn't move, I just stared. I really couldn't think of what to say next. I felt panic. Before I was in jail, I always had something to say. Now I can't even think of a retort to a five-year-old.

Miss Tina, wearing a different dress with a skirt that whished as she walked, came up the stairs. I turned my stare on her.

"Oh, Mr. Heyes, I couldn't help myself. I miss having children stay with us and I wanted to spoil them."

I reached in and closed the twin's door. "They need to understand that what they did was wrong and that all of us, including you, were very worried about them." I marveled that I had the right words to say to her but not to the babies.

"Oh my, Mr. Heyes. I'm sorry. I never had to discipline our boys. We had a nanny that handled all that." Her tone was sincere. "Of course, growing up, my pa's discipline was the palm of his hand or his belt."

I felt sorry for her but didn't want the Kid to be mad at me because I didn't punish them. "They can keep the food they have, but only toast and water for breakfast. And I'm hoping the Kid is back by lunch."

"Yes, they should be. Charles got a telegram from the prison that asked him to send his buggy tomorrow morning to bring the three of them here."

I hoped she didn't see my sigh of relief.

JED 'KID' CURRY

I am sleepin' on the bed in Aiden's private office but that don't mean this prison is any less oppressive. This little office has no windows unlike the bigger one where he sees patients. I was only in here briefly when I had been released from the dark cell. Now I have time to notice things. Like the medical journals open to articles on emotional withdrawal. Most pages he had made notes like 'ignore' or 'not verified'. He had only one circled, 'unwillingness or inability to connect with others as a result of a difficult or stressful situation'. In another he had underlined 'emotional detachment'. He had not given up on Heyes. He was still researchin', lookin' for answers. On the small bookcase beside his desk there was a framed picture of a woman, placed where it was smilin' at him if he was sittin' at his desk. I imagine he glanced at his beloved wife often. I smiled. Aiden had grown into a good friend. And I trusted him.

But I was still locked in this prison. Guards were at both ends of the hall. This bleak, dreary place is oppressive, mentally and even physically. The deep quiet unnerves me. I wish I had my gun, not to shoot but to practice and to clean. Cleanin' it relaxes me.

I practiced the motion for my fast draw but the billy club wound had started to throb. So I sat at Aiden's desk and started openin' drawers.

I found a small gun. I'm sure it was the one he bought before goin' to Brown River. I remember Karl laughin' at him and Colin and the tiny guns they had bought. Now I looked the gun over. It was not loaded and I saw no bullets in the drawer. I didn't have my gun cleanin' kit but I dismantled it. I doubt it had ever been cleaned. I fished a clean bandage out of Aiden's medical bag and did the best I could. At least it was a diversion. I put it back into the drawer carefully.

In the bottom desk drawer, I found a journal. I remembered that Lom had given Heyes a journal. On the first page, Heyes had written his name. The writin' was like that of a child, wobbly with the y backwards. I closed it and turned it over and over in my hands, thinkin'. Heyes had told me about this journal. When we learned that Aiden had broken his trust and read it, he started makin' up stuff to write. And wrote what he thought Arden would want to read. Putin' it back in the drawer without readin' it, Heyes thoughts should be his own.

I attempted to lie down and sleep, but in that time between awake and asleep, dark memories awakened. I felt the searin' pain of the whip as I served my blacksmith master. The desolution of the dark cell in the prison, afraid to sleep or a poisonous snake might drop on my head. The heat of the noon sun when I was forced to take off my shirt and stand still for hours.

I stood up and paced. My heart was beatin' wildly, out of control. Unconsciously, my strides shortened, and I felt that the ankle shackles I had worn for years had returned to stunt my steps.

I didn't hear the door open. The walls were hauntin' me, pushin' closer, smotherin' me. I felt a touch on my shoulders. Stoppin' immediately, I looked down but stood straight, and waited for a whip to bite.

"Jed, relax." Aiden's voice surprised me. Why was he in the desert? "Jed, you're sleepwalkin'. Looks like you are remembering the nightmare that you lived through."

I heard his words, but they did not make sense. I didn't move. My fear of the whip strikin' was real.

"Jed, look at me!" a voice demanded.

I raised my eyes, and my head was grabbed on either side. I was scared. What type of new torture was this goin' to be?

"Jed, it's Aiden." Once he held my gaze he moved his grip to my shoulders. He shook me hard. "Wake up!"

I stepped away from him, my head clearing, the horrors disappearin'. He reached out to shake me again, but I caught his hands.

"I'm awake now, Aiden. It all seemed so real."

"It was real. When was the last time you slept? Memories mixed with stress and this bleak place."

I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. "Don't even remember gettin' up." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I shouldn't have left you alone in here, but it's the only place the warden has authorized for you to be."

"How're Chrissy and Joy?"

"Joy is living up to her name, but Chrissy is experiencing feelings similar to yours in this place, especially with the guard by her bed. I'm sorry things worked out this way. I have told Warden Mays that the three of you will be leaving tomorrow morning and sent a telegram to the governor asking for his buggy to be here at nine."

"Is it safe for Chrissy to travel…and Joy?" I was worried, her smile was so fragile when I had visited her.

"Safer for her sanity to get out of this building. I'll ride with you, and we will make it as smooth as possible."

ASJ*****ASJ

The next mornin' did not come quickly. Twice I heard Chrissy callin' out in fear. I knew Aiden was with her but she needed me. I tried to reach her but the door into the wards was strong and locked. I banged and banged and all I got was, "Quiet Curry, you aren't getting in here."

Sleep never came again. I was worried about my girls; worried that if I tried to sleep the realistic nightmares would come back. When I was awake, I could fight off the gray feelin's that threatened to steal my thoughts. Each minute felt endless. I read the novel I found, but it didn't hold my attention. I attempted to understand Aiden's medical journals. That confused my mind but kept me occupied tryin' to make sense of the fancy writin'. I chose one with a bookmark on an article on fractures to children's limbs and read every word. If I read it right, Michael's shoulder and arm should heal fully with the cast and time.

Some of the other journal articles did not make sense. The ideas seem ridiculous. I wondered if this was where Dr. Sexton got some of his ideas or he was just stuck in the past. I'd never seen a medical journal in his office when I thought about it.

Finally, Aiden knocked on the door and came right in. Lookin' at me sittin' at his desk with the journals, he smiled. "Read anything interesting?"

I gave him a sheepish smile. "Some."

"The governor's buggy and driver are here. I'll bring Chrissy and Joy here in a minute. I'll travel with you. I want to see them settled at the governor's mansion then check on Marshal Josephs."

"It will be nice to settle there until Chrissy can travel and I'd like to visit Ken."

He gave me a strange look and I knew I'd forgotten something. "Jed, the governor did as you asked and granted Heyes early amnesty and Chrissy her visit with Matt. Now you have to do your part and rescue those people being held at Devil's Hole."

"Not even sure who is up there, right?"

"Well I've heard Johnny McWinters' girl for one. And the Devil's Hole gang killed a hostage when he tried to escape. Don't know anything definite."

"The Mark McWinters Gang," I corrected him. "Has anyone thought to ask Matt?"

'I believe I read in his file that he refused to talk about the gang or Devil's Hole."

"Maybe I could try?"

"Don't know if that's possible," Aiden said as he left the room in mid-thought.

And I was alone again. I had a pitcher of water and a glass and found a chamber pot beneath the bed. I tried to splash my face with water from the glass but just managed to leave a wet spot on Aiden's desk. He had said that the buggy was here and Chrissy was ready. Dark thoughts came unbidden. Maybe Chrissy was hurt too bad to travel? Maybe Joy Christina was sick. Maybe…

Aiden entered without knockin'. "Matt's in my office. I don't want to hear him confess anything I might have to testify to later. You have no longer than ten minutes."

At my confused expression, he continued, "I said I needed to have his appointment with me today because I was traveling with your family and wouldn't be back at the scheduled time. All true. Come on."

Matt was sittin' in the chair Heyes had always sat in. He had a new bruise on his neck and his knuckles were red.

"Fightin' ain't gonna get you nothin' but the dark cell."

He looked up at me in surprise. His surprise grew when Aiden went out the back door and closed it.

"Mr… er, Jed, why you here? I need to stand up for myself. I didn't start no fights."

"Takes two to fight. I'm here because I'm takin' the bodies of Wheat Carlson and Kyle Murtry to Devil's Hole to be buried and I want to know what I'm goin' to find there."

He stared at me for a long moment. "Alone?"

"No, Heyes is goin' with me. He's got his amnesty now, no more probation."

"Don't know anything about what happened since Mark and Johnny died and I was arrested, but I know that security is tight. Anyone but you two, I don't think could do what you plannin' on doin'."

"Why?"

He took a long breath. "I ain't a snitch, but I don't want my sister to be a widow neither. The Hole is like a war in itself. There's some of your old gang that Mark let live there if they pay him. They never went on robberies or celebrations. Mark never trusted them, so they stuck with themselves. Only job he'd give them is to guard the prisoners when we went out on a job."

"Prisoners?" I tried to sound surprised. "What prisoners? How many?"

Matt's eyes clouded over, and he looked away. "Wouldn't tell no one else but you, Jed. You and Chrissy are all the family I got left. In Devil's Hole, there's the gang. Pretty sure that Mean Gene Kindberg is the leader now. Got a nasty temper. Tried to take over from Mark, but with Johnny and Bobby Bell backin' him up, no one was going to take the leader position from Mark."

"Not you?"

"I ain't never been much for fightin'. Wanted out of there, but I was too scared to leave and didn't have any place to go."

"So Mean Gene settled himself into the Hole. Heyes threw him out of there once. Might be a problem," I said.

"One thing about M.G, he's got a sense of tradition, especially about the Hole. Might consider buryin' former gang members there favorable like."

"So, there's Mark's old gang and some men from me and Heyes' old Devil's Hole Gang. And your tellin' me there are prisoners?"

Matt looked at me. "Ain't no use keepin' it a secret no longer with all my brothers gone."

"You still got Luke."

"You seen him? Last time I saw him, he was racin' out of the hole trailin' blood from Mark's bullet in his leg."

"Told me about that. Luke's in California. He's a priest."

Shocked, Matt answered, "Well, at least I have someone to pray for my soul." He could see I was tryin' to get my head around prisoners up there.

"Mark set up a series of telegraph operators near railroad stops or banks that let us know when big payrolls or gold shipments were comin. To make sure they were loyal to him, he took a member of their family to the Hole and held them there."

I looked at the ceilin'. Heyes had been right about how Mark had gained their loyalty.

"Mostly men, but there's women and children there, too. They have a fenced off enclosure by the stable against the mountain, small buildin' that used to be for storage. They do the chores around the place. One day a man tried to escape when he was cleanin' the leader's cabin. Johnny shot him in the back in front of everyone. No one disobeyed Mark. I spect it's the same with M.G."

"There's women in Devil's Hole?"

"Yeah, they were nice girls when Mark brought them there, but they're no more than whores now. Rachel Lynn got lucky and Johnny claimed her as his own. Might even have loved her. She bore him a child, little boy named Johnny after his pa. Johnny protected them. Don't know what happened to them now."

"She's there because she just happened to be related to a useful telegraph operator?"

"Yeah, a brother somewhere east of Cheyenne. Think I heard his name's Hawley. Not sure if that's his first or last."

"We was plannin' on just ridin' in there and shootin' three times. That still the signal?"

"Might be best if you take someone other than Heyes. Mean Gene really has a dislikin' towards him."

"Had thought of bringin' one other man."

Aiden walked through the back door. "Time's up."

Matt looked at me concerned. "Think that's a real nice thing you're doin' for Wheat and Kyle. Be careful, Jed. Like I said, I'd rather my sister weren't a widow."

I nodded. "And stay out of fights. Be tough inside and don't mind the ones eggin' you on."

'I'll try." He had the McWinters green eyes, but they had already become dull in prison. I always had hope of amnesty while I was in prison. And if not amnesty, release in twenty years or less for good behavior. Matt doesn't have that. He's here until he dies.

HEYES

I gave up my room for Lom. He could never handle the grand circular staircase that the twins love to play on. I realized tonight why I was given the downstairs room to begin with. I had thought it was so the guards could watch so I didn't escape. But it was a kindness from the governor remembering the extra lamps and oil the Kid and Lom had paid for while I was in prison. I'm taking the Kid and Chrissy's room tonight. I made sure my windows were closed and locked before I opened the door separating the room from Michael and Martha's room. They were sleeping deeply when I retired for the night. Still, I didn't know what trouble they might get into in the morning. I left the lamp on in my room and the light brightened their room, too.

The telegram said the Kid and Chrissy will be here tomorrow. Mrs. Clark and Miss Tina have been setting up a nursery for Joy, but I think her parents will want to keep her with them. I think I did the right thing for their kids, restricting them to their rooms until their pa can talk to them. And they're supposed to think about running away and stealing the horse and buggy. I don't want the Kid mad at me. I don't want him to tell me to leave now that I'm off parole. He said the ranch is my home and I want it to be with all of my heart. So, I need to convince him I made the right choice.