Winter's Refuge

Chapter Ninety-Two

JED 'KID' CURRY

Visitin' Matt had exhausted us all so we stayed at Aiden's house tonight. Heyes and Mike knew this was a possibility, still we sent them a telegram to let them know. Aiden's house was brighter than I remember with the white sheets off all the furniture. Miss Denise was good for him…and he was healin' her.

Holdin' Chrissy close, I felt her body relax and a restful sleep engulf her. But I couldn't sleep. Every time sleep started to come, the nightmares began. Dark, black, silent clouds coalesce into prison walls that I know will possess me for the rest of my life. My only hope of escape …death. Crushin' despair overwhelms every breath.

"Martha, no tease Michael," Chrissy whispered in her sleep and woke me. I rocked her gently and she reached out for me, not wakin'. The nightmare faded but traces of the feelin' lingered. Awake, I held her close the rest of the night. I don't know if I was protectin' her or she was keepin' my nightmare at bay… or both.

LOM

Got a telegram from the Kid last night. It was from Cheyenne so I figure he was visiting Matt McWinters in prison. My stomach tightens every time I think of the Kid going there. We went together to visit Heyes. He hid it, but I knew it was hard for him to enter that fortress. And it was worse after he was imprisoned for a night, a night that almost got him killed to save Heyes' parole and amnesty. I admire his courage and loyalty…and strength of will.

He wants me to hire the lawyer I had for Chrissy to reduce Matt's sentence from life to twenty years. Doesn't seem much difference to me but his telegram said urgent. The lawyer, James Chadwick, lives in Casper, Wyoming. I wired him that I wanted to engage his services. I have an appointment with him in two days at his office. He's an excellent lawyer and a smart one that will think outside of convention. I think that's what Matt will need. Getting a McWinter any leniency from the justice system will be a challenge. From what I remember of Mr. Chadwick, he enjoys taking on a challenge.

HEYES

I don't want to leave the familiar surroundings of Mike Loveland's newspaper office. It was quiet when we came, but a newspaper is never really closed. Townspeople knock despite the CLOSED sign with whatever they think in important news. Last night it was that someone finally had their baby. Mike wrote it down and efficiently ushered the new aunt out the door.

This morning things are different. People have been in and out since the paper opened. Mike wrote stories in the quiet last of night and now he working the press. He told me how the Kid fixed his new press. I'm proud of him. He's a good friend to Mike.

Usually Mikey plays in the back; Mike has part of it enclosed like a giant playpen. He checks on him often, especially when he's quiet. He told me the only time Mikey is quiet is if he's sleeping…or getting into trouble.

I tried to be helpful like I am in the blacksmith shop and stood behind the counter helping the people who came in. My heart beat fast with every customer. I found I didn't really need to talk to the ones that simply wanted to buy a paper. They were used to putting their penny on the counter and grabbing a paper off the stack with no interaction. If the person said they had news, Mike had paper and pencil ready for them to write down the 'news'. But the first man in couldn't write.

"Don't shove that paper at me. Mr. Loveland knows I can't write," he practically yelled at me.

I was here to help. And force myself to interact with strangers, but when someone yells at me, I want to hide. I looked down, not at the man. "Sorry, s...sir. D…d...dictate your news to me and I will write it down," I managed, the words coming out easier once I started.

"What you say? Don't be mumblin'," the man yelled.

Mike looked over at me. "He's mostly deaf, Heyes. Got to look at him so he can see your lips and talk loud." He started the press again.

I moved the paper to face me and picked up the pencil. With effort I looked at the man. He was older. I knew I couldn't do this for long. "You talk. I'll write," I said, talking slowly.

"That's better. Telegraph lines are down going east. Probably take three…four days to fix."

Before I realized it, I was looking right at him again. "Why?"

"Didn't I tell you why? I guess I didn't. Looks like they were cut, not just once but a lot of places." He kept talking as I started to write. "Damn outlaws. Probably planning on robbing one of our trains and I can't get a telegram through to warn anyone." He was angry, very angry at me. No, not at me. At the outlaws who had cut the lines. That had been me before…before we tried for amnesty. It's not us now, I told myself.

My heart beat fast. Thinking of all the times I thought nothing of having telegraph lines cut before a train robbery, I felt the urge to hide. I finished writing without looking up and walked away without saying anything more. I knew words would fail me.

"Well, you're welcome, whatever your name is," the man yelled after me before he left.

I put the paper in Mike's box and retreated to the back room. Mikey was sleeping and he looked like an angel. He must have heard me because he sat up and held his arms out. "Up, Unc," he said.

I lifted him out of his playpen and sat in Mike's overstuffed, well-worn chair by the playpen. Holding him, his smile made my heart lighter. He cuddled down against me and went back to sleep.

JED 'KID' CURRY

The everyday life of our Phoenix ranch was just what me and Chrissy needed to forget the horrors of visitin' Matt. Lom hired the same lawyer that represented Chrissy and he was workin' on getting' Matt's sentence reduced. To someone who has never been incarcerated, there doesn't seem to be much difference between a twenty years and life sentence. But there's a difference…it's hope.

Aiden and Miss Denise are engaged. No one knows her background here and no one will. She's been stayin' at the hotel and workin' as a nurse for Aiden until they are married. She wants something very quiet that won't be in the newspapers.

Ken is improvin' and gettin' restless, I think. As a US Marshal, he led a busy life with some excitement. Now he tries to do what he can to help around Phoenix. Today Heyes drove him over to the old house on the land he bought before he was injured while guardin' me. I still feel guilty about that. He's walkin' now, but with a cane that Aiden says he will always need.

Chrissy and Joy came with me to pick up the twins 'cause she wants to go to the mercantile. She still avoids town more often than now. I haven't gone into Three Birds lately as Frank is helpin' his brother Fritz in our state capital of Lincoln preparin' his campaign to run for state representative. Their brother Fred joined them this week with all their wives.

Without the Birde brothers to keep him in line, Brandon Wyatt has acted like he's in charge of the town and he definitely does not like me. So, I've stayed out of town except to drive the twins to and from school. But today Chrissy asked to go shoppin'. She prefers to stay on the ranch surrounded by people she knows and trusts but she wants to turn the third bedroom upstairs into a nursery for Joy and the new baby. I can't deny her anything so we went to Three Birds. I usually pull around to enter in back but Jeff's helpin' out watchin' the Birde kids and property. So I dropped her off in front.

I should have listened to my gut and stayed away.

While I was tryin' out the new barbershop in town on the edge of town for a much needed haircut, my wife shopped at the mercantile. Michael and Martha were playin' with a school friends, Josie and Henry in the street.

Suddenly I heard a scream that I knew was my oldest daughter, followed by a yelp of pain from Michael. When I tried to stand up, the barber pushed me down. Ignorin' him, I pushed aside his hand. Grabbin' my gun off the hat rack, I heard a gunshot before I reached the door.

A dead dog lay in the street. I saw Michael and Martha, in the dirt bleedin' and Chrissy standin' over them protectively with Heyes' gun in one hand and Joy in the other..

Before I could reach them, Aiden was there. And then an angry Brandon Wyatt started screamin'.

"That woman killed my prize dog," he yelled, pointin' at Chrissy. "She killed a good dog for nothing."

I could see that Chrissy had lost her words and was starin' at our twins as Aiden started to treat the deep bite on the back of Martha's leg.

Wyatt kept screamin'. "Deputy, it's your duty to arrest her." When the temporary deputy, Ty Fanciello, hesitated, Wyatt turned his wrath towards him. "Arrest her, I say. I'm pressing charges. She killed my dog. You know who I am. I'm a prominent, important citizen. Why, I even served on the City Council."

"But that dog was attackin' children," someone yelled.

Wyatt was still yellin' at the deputy. "And she's an ex-convict who's not allowed to own a gun!"

"That's Chrissy Curry," yelled another.

Aiden picked up Martha. "Jed, get Michael to my office immediately. He's losing a lot of blood." Liftin' him in my arms, I took a quick look at my wife. I saw her nod, though her green eyes were filled with fear.

Chrissy handed the gun to the deputy as he took her arm. I was torn until Michael lost consciousness in my arms. The dog had torn a long gash in his side that started to bleed faster as I picked him up.

"Go, Michael!" Chrissy yelled to me.

Wyatt, seein' that he was getting' his way, still bellowed loudl, "Curry is a proud name in these parts even though he was an outlaw but she's a McWinters…and we all know they are a family of murderous outlaws!"

Last thing I heard before I got Michael into the doctor's office was the deputy tell Chrissy she could keep the baby with her in the cell while they figure everything out.

I knew Deputy Fanciello. He had trailed Irvin' Price for me and Frank when we sent him back to Colorado to get an answer to our question. We'd asked if the "Eye for an eye. Siblin' for a siblin'" only meant Chrissy or it could include her brothers. Price brought we back the answer that it could be any siblin' of Mark McWinters.

Fanciello hadn't come back. He'd staying in Bridgeport on the way back. Frank had said it was alright. But he'd ended up in their jail for a couple of months for drinkin', fightin' and stabbin' a man in a fight. Only reason he didn't get a tougher sentence was Frank went up there and testified for his character. I didn't think too much of his character right now.

HEYES

Driving Ken to his property just meant going to the main road and down about two miles. The Kid has a lot of pasture land, with fences in all directions. Ken owns the next property down the road. The Kid said it had been empty since he moved in. Sheriff Birde said it had been vacant for years before that. Ken's dreams centered on this land.

The house didn't look as bad up close as from the road. The outside was wind-blown with peeling paint, but the windows were all there. I worried about Ken and his cane but the porch was solid.

"Door's locked," Ken said sadly.

I smiled. "Is it?" I haven't used them in years, but carrying my lockpicks gives me a sense of normalcy. I wasn't even sure I could open the simple lock on the door. But it responded to me quickly. Smiling, I turned the knob and indicated to Ken to enter his house first.

It was dark inside, the only light the winter sunlight flowing through the now opened door. Ken stopped inside the door and while our eyes adjusted to the dim light he said, "Forgot you used to be able to open any door…and any safe. Looks like that's a skill you don't forget."

I panicked for a moment and took two quick breaths before I thought of an answer. "Ain't much use for the skill in my honest life."

The ex-US Marshal's voice was teasing. "Good answer, Heyes. Can you pull open some of the curtains in here?"

We were pleasantly surprised that the interior of the house was in good condition. There were no signs of leaks or water damage. Ken was smiling. I'm glad something in his life is going right. We didn't stay long. I want to be home before it even starts to get dark.

JED 'KID' CURRY

I wanted to be in two places at one time, here with the twins and in the jail with Chrissy. I tried to soothe my daughter, cryin' from pain, as Aiden cleaned her wound. Miss Denise stripped Michael's shirt off and started to clean Michael's wound gently. I could see Aiden's teachin' in her movements. When she was calm enough, Aiden gave Martha laudanum for her pain and finished stitchin' the wound on the back of her leg. Then he turned to Michael. Miss Denise had stopped the bleedin' and cleaned the wound. Michael regained consciousness when Aiden probed the wound with his fingers under a bright light.

"Hello, Michael." Aiden gave the boy a quick smile before goin' back to examinin' the wound. "Do you know where you are?"

He nodded, then grimaced in pain. "Pa?"

"I'm right here."

"Martha?"

"She's gonna be fine," I answered.

Aiden straightened up. "Michael, you are a very brave boy. Miss Denise is going to give you medicine for the pain that will make you sleep while I bandage this. Don't fight the medicine."

When both were sleepin', Aiden saw me checkin' my gun. "Jed, no need for that. Chrissy should be out soon. She didn't do anything wrong that I saw."

He walked with me to the jail, stoppin' to tell Curtis Burde to ride to the ranch and get Heyes.

Wyatt was standin' at the door drawin' a crowd of people with his rantings. From what I heard, he has decided that Chrissy will have a trial tomorrow. "And then that McWinters scum will go back to prison where she belongs," he said, gesturin' largely with his hands.

Me and Aiden push our way around the outside of the crowd and into the sheriff's office jail.

Deputy Fanciello looked confused and overwhelmed. "Mr. Curry, you can go back and see your wife, but she ain't said a word. She doesn't move except to take care of the baby."

Chrissy was sittin' on the cot in the far corner of the cell, legs folded, huggin' a sleepin' Joy...and starin' at the ceilin' lookin' at nothin'.

I almost cried. I need to get her out of this place. Me and Heyes used to be pretty good at breakin' out of jails. I can hear Aiden talkin' to the deputy. "Her trial is at noon. Mr. Wyatt's lawyer is prosecutin'. I'd recommend Mr. Curry find her a good lawyer. Heard Mr. Wyatt say his lawyer knows all the tricks to get someone convicted."

I heard that but talked to Chrissy. I know she can hear me. "Chrissy darlin', we'll get this straightened out," I told her. No response. "I'm sorry this happened." Again, no response but I hadn't expected one.

Joy fussed a bit and Chrissy moved her from her arms to sit up on the bed and the baby quietly babbled to herself.

"Michael and Martha are at Dr. Arden's. He's takin' good care of them and they are goin' to be fine. You did good. You saved them."

She lowered her vision and I thought she was goin' to look at me. But she didn't. Her gaze locked on the ceilin' where the cell bars attached and stayed there. So, I stood there and talked to her about how I loved her and our life together.

"Mr. Curry, I'm afraid you have to leave now, sir," the deputy said. And my heart sank. How could I leave her here like this? "The baby?"

"I couldn't see him but I heard Aiden's voice. "Leave the girl with her. She's still partially nursing'. I'll have my assistant bring over some bottles and needed supplies."

"Thank," Chrissy's soft voice surprised me but she was back inside her world, now rockin' Joy.

"Will do, doctor."

"She will need privacy to nurse. Perhaps a blanket hung so no one can see?" Aiden suggested.

"We can do that. Mr. Curry, you have to leave."

I didn't move. I can't move. I can't leave her here. Alone. I feel Aiden's arm around my back, movin' me toward the door of the cell block.

"I love you, Chrissy darlin'," I told her. No response.

I let him guide me out the door. Wyatt's attention was now on the arrivin' stage. "My lawyer is esteemed in this state for his conviction rate. When my political aspirations are fulfilled and I am governor, he will be the attorney general."

I watched the impeccably dressed man come down the stage stairs. He moved with an easy confidence. Wyatt stepped forward and shook the man's hand. I thought the lawyer looked annoyed when Wyatt put his arm around his shoulder.

HEYES

I'd only been home around ten minutes when Curtis Birde came racing up Curry Rd. I thought for a minute he was going to try to jump the fence, but he pulled his horse to a sliding stop just short of the gate. He got it open quickly and did not bother to close it before getting on his horse and racing to our porch. Something was wrong. Jed, Chrissy, and their kids were late returning from town. I met Curtis on the bottom step.

"Miss Chrissy's in jail!" he said breathlessly without dismounting.

"What! Oh no!" I heard Auntie wail in back of me.

"Dr. Arden sent me to get you."

"Where's the...Mr. Curry?" I asked.

"At the doctor's. The twins were dog bit bad."

"Wait. I'll go back with you. Water that horse," I told him. Going to my room, I found my gun was gone. Chrissy sometimes borrows it when she leaves the ranch. I needed to calm my mind with all the possibilities running though it right now, so many I couldn't think right. And I need to think right. My Kid needs me. My family needs me.

By the time I came back outside, Arnie had Fall's Bells saddled for me and ready to go. Dusk was falling but when we left, I didn't think about it. Curtis set a brisk pace and I needed to concentrate on riding to keep up with him. I stayed close to him, especially when dusk turned into evening and we were riding with the last strains of daylight disappearing. I tried to push back against the darkness as Dr. Arden had taught me to do, but my heart was beating hard and I was having trouble breathing. I'm scared. I want to drop to the ground and hide. But my family needs me. I tell myself I can ride ten more strides, then ten more. And I see the lights of Three Birds ahead of me.

JED 'KID' CURRY

"Stay with your kids here, Jed. I'll be right back," Aiden told me, not followin' me into his office. At my questionin' look he said, "Arranging for a lawyer; trust me."

I went into the room where I had left my kids sleepin'.

"Papa!" Martha was sittin' up with a candy stick in her hand.

"Martha darlin', how's your leg?" I asked, grateful to see her smile.

Miss Denise fluffed the pillow behind her head. "Dr. Arden gave her medicine to relieve the pain…for now," she explained with a nod of her head at Martha.

"And Michael?" I looked over at him sleepin' calmly in the other bed.

'He'll be fine," Miss Denise reassured me as Aiden returned.

I nodded to him to go to the other room. "Aiden, I can't leave her alone in there," I told him again checkin' that my colt was loaded.

"Jed, you're not runnin' from the law anymore. It will be resolved tomorrow when her lawyer gets here on the morning stage."

"There's no mornin' stage tomorrow."

"There is now."

He sent Miss Denise to the jail with the first bottles for the baby and Chrissy and warm blankets. "Make sure Miss Chrissy eats her dinner," he told her.

"Bring her some jerky. She'll always eat jerky."

I sat in a chair between my children's sick beds and hung my head. I've failed. I didn't protect them…or their mother. And now my wife and baby are in jail, facin' trial, facin' prison. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen. But for now, I'll trust Aiden.

"Come with me, Jed." He surprised me by pickin' up a wooden chair and leavin' by his rear door into the alley.

I followed him as he found the high window that opened into Chrissy's cell. I heard Joy's soft babblin' and Chrissy's "Shhh."

"Window's too high to look into but you can talk to her. No real light in there to shone out here. She's retreated into herself so I doubt she'll answer. But we know she'll hear you. Be positive. She needs to hear your reassurance. She'll draw on your strength."

HEYES

Even though I knew the town was ahead, the darkness was teasing me, hiding the lights then showing them to me again. I tell myself that I'm not in darkness. There's light ahead and I'm heading for it. My family is in that light and needs me.

Curtis headed for the doctor's office and told me he'd take my horse to the livery. I didn't knock. I didn't even stop to think if there might be strangers in his office; I barged in.

I saw Miss Denise in the back room.

"Miss Denise," I called, wondering if I should apologize, but I'm more interested in finding my family.

"Uncle Heyes! We're back here." I heard Martha call. I found her sitting up, candy stick in hand, eyes almost in tears from pain as Miss Denise unwrapped the bandage on her leg. The irregular edges of the swollen red wound on her leg looked worse in the stark candlelight Miss Denise had on the nearby table.

"Mr. Heyes, keep her hands away from this leg, please, so I can clean and rebandage."

"Martha, tell me what happened." I gently lifted her hands away from her leg.

"Uncle Heyes, it was terrible. We was playing with Josie and Henry and a dog growled and bit my leg. Michael tried to push him away from me. The dog growled real low and ran at Michael and tore open his side. Then Ma shot the dog. She's a real good shot."

"Okay, missy, all done," Miss Denise said. Now finish your candy. I need to give you some of the sleepy medicine or your pain will come back."

Martha handed me the sticky remnants of her candy and reached for the glass with the medicine. "Yes, ma'am."

As me and Miss Denise left the room, Dr. Arden came in through the back door.

"Ah, Heyes, good. Let's go. Jed needs your support right now."