Winter's Refuge
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-One
HEYES
And just like that, the prison wagon was gone. Nine days. He has nine days left to serve. And I was assured that Wooly Eyes Wolcott had been hanged and buried in the prison graveyard. Jaguar Cummings had been transferred east to a prison with a notorious reputation for prisoner deaths. Rocky wouldn't have to worry about either of them. When I thought of it, Colin, Frank, and the judge want to scare Rocky, so he stays on the straight and narrow.
"We could get our horses and escort the wagon to the prison," the Kid suggested.
"We could but we're not going to. This is something Rocky needs to face alone," I answered.
"Before he left, I told Rocky me and you would make sure Stephanie and Steven come visit Phoenix after he comes back. Give him somethin' to look forward to," the Kid said. He was sad. I could see that. But no sadder than I was and not heading to depression. And then I kicked myself for analyzing the Kid like everyone else. I need to stop doing that.
Dinner that night was quiet. We were all thinking about Rocky. Michael and Martha knew where he was going and that he'd be back, but we were all subdued. I don't even remember what Auntie served. I just ate what was in front of me and thought of the mush that Rocky would get to eat if they feed him at all while he was traveling to the prison. When he gets there, he'll have seven and a half days to serve. Doesn't sound like much, but one day and night in there almost killed the Kid…and Rocky's no way as tough as him.
Angie read a letter from Sam. He was apprenticing for two months with a lawyer friend of Mr. Kolmand in Denver. His education ended here before the term ended so this was to get him exposure to practicing law in a big city. He told us about the cases he got to help research and what he could of the trials. He's far away from home but Clementine Hale has gone into town every weekend and taken him on a picnic every Saturday and out to dinner that night. We all laughed when Sam wrote that she even introduced him to some girls his own age. He's shy, no, he's reserved, and after saying hello, the girls giggled among themselves through dinner. So, he talked to Clem. He said she told him marvelous tales about our adventures that were better than any of the dime novels he'd read.
"Why does Sam get to read those books and not us?" demanded Martha, interrupting Angie reading the letter.
The Kid stared at his oldest daughter but didn't say anything. She got the message. "Sorry for interrupting, Aunt Angie. I know Sam is more than twelve." Finished, she looked at her pa, who nodded his approval. And Angie continued reading Sam's letter to us.
When she was done, the Kid pushed his chair back and said, "Thank you for the good dinner, Auntie. Got a lot of work to do; goin' back down to the shop." He kissed each of the kids at the table, then Chrissy, and went over to the playpen where Nettie, Josiah, and Diane were sleeping.
"Need company?" I asked.
"Nah, tryin' to catch up and clear that back room," he answered and was gone.
Three hours later, I could still see the light from all the lamps he's got in his shop. This is his way of working through his feelings. And I trust him now to ask me if he needs help.
JED 'KID' CURRY
When I told Colin I wanted to make modifications of Rocky's shackles, I implied it was only to add an extra rung. That's part of it. I didn't tell him that it was a very special rung. And that's what I've been workin' on at night. Only me and Rocky are gonna know about this modification, not even Heyes or Chrissy, in case anyone questions it. So, I need to work on it when I'm down here alone. I've made it three times so far, but it hasn't worked. But I think I have it figured out now. I'll finish it tomorrow night.
Rocky's a quiet kid but we miss him around here, especially at meals when he finishes everythin' that's left after we all eat. My mind keeps goin' to the worst things that can happen to him in prison. Heyes handles his worry by not sleepin' much and pacin'. He checked that all the doors and windows are locked at least twice tonight. We exchanged a long look when I came back to the house. He'll be alright and so will I …and so will Rocky.
Crawlin' into bed gently so not to wake Chrissy, she turned and hugged me. "Rocky will be back soon. Nothing will happen to him. You survived prison and so did Heyes and me. So will Rocky." And holdin' her in my arms, at that moment, I believed every word she said and slept. It was in the mornin' when I woke up to practice shootin' that all my worries came back.
HEYES
I kept track of the days until me and the Kid can start to Bridgeport on our trip to bring Rocky home. Michael wanted to come with us, but Chrissy put her foot down. "You will not miss two or more days of school, young man," she told him. But I know there was more to it. She and the Kid don't want him to see the prison or Rocky when he gets out of it's clutches.
"Yes, Mama," Michael answered, but he wasn't happy.
The library is only open on Saturdays, but I walked down there today and picked out one of the dime novels that actually mentioned me in the title and the Kid's name wasn't first. A lot of them just say Kid Curry and his partner. When we were just about finished with dinner, I showed everyone 'Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry Ride the Trail that Couldn't Be Ridden,' and suggested that the twins take turns reading it to all of us. My idea was an immediate success. We all still put our own plates in the sink and rinse them off, but tonight the whole dinner table was cleared quickly. Juan and Hortencia and their little boys came over and we all assembled in the living room. It was one of the first times Vince joined us for anything but a meal. Even the Kid didn't return to the blacksmith shop. The only one missing was Rocky. We all thought about him. No one mentioned him.
At the end of the first chapter, we stopped for questions. Surprising all of us, Joy asked the first one. "Papa's horse Blackie? Blackie live here?" she asked.
"Who's your papa?" Auntie asked.
Joy smiled shyly. "Kid Curry."
"And how'd you know your papa was Kid Curry?" asked Auntie.
Joy pointed to me. "Unc Heyes calls Papa Kid."
We all laughed. "So, I do, little one. Your pa used to like to ride tall black horses and he called them all Blackie that I remember."
"Winner's Glory's black," Joy replied, mispronouncing his name. We thought it was cute and none of us bothered to correct her.
The Kid picked Joy up and put her on his knee as he leaned back in one of the upholstered chairs by the fireplace. "So, he is. Maybe I should call him Blackie? What does everyone think?"
Everyone spoke at once, but Chrissy, speaking louder than was usual for her, put an end to the discussion. "Winter's Glory shall stay Winter's Glory. Kid Curry changed horses so much he didn't have time to remember all their names."
"Because he was an outlaw," Michael said. There was no accusation in his tone. He was stating a fact.
I answered, "Because we both were outlaws. Any other questions on that chapter?"
"This was before you and Pa met Ma and Aunt Angie, right? Because you got your arms around different girls," asked Martha quietly.
I nodded. "This story is supposed to take place years before we met our beautiful wives," I said. "Martha, why don't you read the next chapter."
In the next chapter we were in a saloon in a town called Death River. I was playing poker, and the Kid went upstairs with a pretty girl. "Any questions," I asked when she finished reading the chapter.
"Pa, why did you wink at the pretty girl and what did you do when you went upstairs with her? You did that in all the other books we read, too," Martha asked. I could see this was going to be a long night. But I was glad the Kid decided to do it this way rather than have them read the books behind his back.
With a smile at the Kid, Chrissy said, "Your pa makes sure that the latches on all their windows are working real well, and if they're broken, he fixes them."
The twins nodded seriously. They know their pa does that around here. Everyone was hiding their laughter, but we couldn't hold it when Michael commented, proudly, "So that's what a Lothario does."
Michael picked up the book to read.
"One more chapter for tonight. It's past your bedtime," the Kid said. Joy was asleep on his lap. Chrissy and my wife had moved to a darker corner and were nursing Diane and Nettie. Ruth Ann was still wide awake and dressing the old doll and signing to her in the middle of the floor. She can't hear the story but enjoys it when we are all together.
Michael finished reading the chapter and handed me the book. "Were you really in the town of Death River when the Kid… er, Pa got the grippe?" he asked me.
"Good question," I answered. "We ain't never heard of a town called Death River, but your pa got the grippe every winter since he was younger than you."
Vince doesn't talk much unless needed, but asked, "So Death River is a made-up place?" he asked. "Thought books were about true things."
Angie studied the man closely. He was probably in his early twenties. "Vince, do you like to read?" she asked.
The way he blushed and looked away, I knew Angie had figured out he couldn't read. "Weren't no books where I lived and no library either," he answered.
She smiled and let the subject drop as the Kid stood and stretched and announced he had to go close up the forge. And that ended the reading that night. I kept the book, determined to read the next few chapters before tomorrow night so me and the Kid can be prepared for the questions.
JED 'KID' CURRY
I drove the twins to school and went straight to Frank's office to see if he'd heard anything from the prison. The door was locked so I sat on the bench outside and watched the people of Three Birds go about their lives. When I was stayin' at Aiden's house, I'd watched out the bedroom window and felt distant, uninvolved with the people in the streets. But not now. This is my town. Everyone greets me and I smile and greet them back sayin', "Nice day, ain't it." I touch my fingers to my hat and nod to all the ladies, young and old. Three Birds looks better than ever, and the townsfolk are takin' pride in what they almost lost. I understand that feelin'.
"Any news, Frank?" I asked, before he had the door unlocked.
"Nothing, Jed, good or bad. But I don't expect to hear anything until I get the telegram with his release date. But I've got something for you. Bill, my deputy, found it under the pillow when he cleaned Rocky's cell. It's addressed to you. Found this, too."
He handed me a picture that Joy had drawn and one of her Franklin Rainbow waxy crayons that Miss Tina, the governor's wife, had sent to her. I turned it over. In awkward printin', Rocky had written…
"Mr. Curry,
I am sorry I was bad. Thank you for being good to me. I like Phenix and I like you and Mr Heys and your famiy. I will be very good in prison so you will be proud of me and take me back. Don't give up on me. Plese.
Rocky"
"Breaks your heart, don't it?" asked Frank.
I couldn't answer. I was choked up with emotion. I nodded. When I could talk, I said, "Think I'll go over to that church of Father Patrick's and say a prayer for the boy. Bet God will be surprised to hear from me. Hope he listens."
HEYES
I read the rest of the book and wondered if all of them were like this. Kid was in three gunfights, won them all and his 'lightning-fast draw' was mentioned each time. Everyone at Phoenix knows that the Kid practices every morning. Only me and Chrissy know that he's preparing for that third gunfighter that had been paid by a man, long dead, to kill him. We would explain to everyone that the Kid has been in gunfights, but these are made-up ones by the author. But one of them wasn't, not really. It was the gunfight between the Kid and Harrison Roberts, Miss Denise's first husband. It wasn't exact, but it was pretty close. A young wife, he had named her Penelope, the name the hostages had given Miss Denise when she'd retreated into herself and couldn't speak. The fight took place in a barn when I found her husband hitting the wife that had just been rescued. The husband's name had been changed, too, but he was still referred to as a notorious gambler and gunfighter. And the Kid had beat him to the draw. And the husband yelled that he thought she was dead and had already taken a very pretty, new younger wife. It was too close to the truth. I'd warn the Kid not to show emotion while it is read. When we're done reading this book, I'm going to give it to Aiden and Miss Denise to burn.
Before Michael started reading, I told everyone that I had read ahead, and all the gunfights were fictional. He and Martha are learning what that word means quickly. It was hard to hear the chapter about Miss Denise read aloud. And I vowed to somehow get Hauser Sletten to withdraw that book from circulation. He's promised not to use any of the events of the hostages, their capture, or their rescue in his books…yet here it was. Going to enlist Mr. Kolmand's legal skills…but I don't want to tell him why we want it out of publication.
"Any questions on that chapter," the Kid asked when his son had finished reading.
Martha's hand shot up like she was in school. "We know that the gunfights in this story were made up, but Pa, were you really in gunfights? Did they really call you The Fastest Gun in the West?"
I saw my partner take a deep breath. "Yes…and yes. Me and Uncle Heyes told you we were outlaws and that's why we went to prison."
Vince had been listening carefully. Since Angie found he couldn't read, she's been teaching him every night at the table outside the kitchen. "My pa said he saw Kid Curry…er you in a gunfight once. Said his partner, Hannibal Heyes, was so confident in the Kid's speed that he stood behind his right shoulder. Pa said he never saw the gun come out of the holster or being aimed, it was so fast. And you shot the gun out of the man's hand, only grazing his wrist with your bullet. That true? Can you do that?" he asked the Kid but looked at me.
"Saw him do that many times," I answered before the Kid could say anything. Vince came with a case of Kid Curry hero worship. Now I know where he got it.
Chrissy ended any more questions by standing and stretching. "Now you know your pa's a good shot. It's time for bed."
And that's how we diverted our thoughts from worrying about Rocky for a couple of hours each night. On the eighth morning when the Kid went into Frank's office, he was handed a telegram, but Frank told him what it said. "You and Heyes have a meeting with Warden Mays tomorrow afternoon regarding Rocky's parole being reinstated. Don't know anything more than what's said in that telegram."
But Arnie stopped the Kid when he left the sheriff's office to give him another telegram. This one was from Dr. Oliver asked us to catch the early train to Cheyenne and meet with him before going to our meeting with Mays. Nothing more. Me and the Kid didn't tell anyone about that second telegram. Why worry them? We're worried enough for all of us.