The Devil's Hole Gang was in town celebrating their latest successful robbery with most of the men standing shoulder to shoulder at the bar in the Crazy Horse Saloon talking and laughing loudly. Kyle and Salem, the only two absent, had gone to the mercantile, Kyle to replenish his supply of tobacco while Salem picked out a new shirt. Walking to the saloon the older man stopped abruptly, his surprise evident even to Kyle when he saw a man he recognized riding down the street toward them...a man he hadn't seen in years.

"You go on ahead Kyle, I'll be along shortly."

Kyle stopped chewing when the man dismounted, his head swiveling back and forth between them several times unsure as to whether he should leave Salem alone or not.

"Go on now, it's all right, I know 'im."

Glancing once more at the two men, Kyle hitched at his pants and headed to the saloon. Chewing on his plug of tobacco he pushed through the doors, striding across the room a grin on his face as he elbowed his way in between the Kid and Wheat, causing both men to scowl at him. Leaning on the bar he ordered his beer, the grin disappearing as he turned, casting a curious glance outside where he could still see the two men in the street.

"Wonder who that fella is?"

"What fella's that Kyle?" Wheat asked without looking.

"The one that's talkin' to Salem."

That caught the Kid's attention and he turned, frowning when he saw a man who looked to be roughly the same age as Salem handing him first a hat, then holding something out and placing it in Salem's hand. He tapped Heyes' arm with the back of his hand jerking his head toward the door to direct his partner's attention to what was going on outside.

"Dunno Kyle…I don't recognize him, do you Heyes?" the Kid asked.

Heyes shook his head. "Nope, don't recall seein' him before. Sure seem to be acquainted with one another though."

The gunfighter headed to the swinging doors, looking over them, ready in case there was any trouble, Heyes following on his heels to take a position on his partner's left side. It was only a moment later that Wheat joined them, looking between the two partners to see what was going on.

"Wonder who it is?"

"Don't know Wheat but keep the boys in here will ya 'til we find out," Heyes instructed.

"Don't ya reckon we outta be out there in case there's trouble?"

"Wheat," Curry growled warningly.

"Just sayin' Kid," Wheat mumbled.

"Me and Kid are watchin' in case he needs help. They seem friendly enough to each other."

The three men watched as the stranger reached out placing a hand on Salem's shoulder saying something to him before mounting his horse and heading out of town, leaving the oldest man in the gang looking down at the hat in his hand. He stood for several moments before shaking his head and making his way to his horse, hanging the hat from the pommel then looking at the object in his hand before shoving it in his pocket. The Kid had pushed through the swinging doors when he saw the stranger leaving and headed to the man he considered friend, reaching him as he pulled himself up into the saddle. Heyes too stepped through the batwing doors after telling Wheat once more to stay inside, but remained on the boardwalk leaning against a post, his arms crossed as he watched his cousin go to Salem.

"Salem? Everything all right?"

Taking a deep breath Salem looked down at the younger man who stood looking up at him in some concern and swallowed before answering.

"I'm gonna head back now Kid if that's all right," he said quietly. And without waiting for a response he reined his horse around heading slowly out of town leaving the gunfighter standing with his hands on his hips, a slight frown on his face as Salem rode in the direction of Devil's Hole. Heyes had been keeping an eye on them from the boardwalk and when he saw Salem leave he walked over to his cousin stopping beside him, both of them watching the man head back to the hideout.

"Well?"

The Kid shook his head. "Damned if I know Heyes, he didn't tell me, but whatever it is it's upset him."

Heyes put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Let's go finish our drinks, give him some time to himself before we head back."

"Yeah…I guess," he said nodding thoughtfully.

XXX

As the gang rode into Devil's Hole they immediately saw Salem sitting in one of the chairs outside the leaders' cabin. Heyes and the Kid exchanged a quick glance.

"You boys see to the horses while we find out what's goin' on," Heyes instructed as he handed his reins to Lobo.

Salem sat hunched forward, his forearms resting on his legs, a brown hat on the floor beside his feet as he stared at something in his hand. He glanced up when he heard footsteps, seeing Heyes and the Kid approaching. As they stepped up onto the porch, Heyes touched Curry's arm. "I'll make coffee," he said softly knowing that ever since the talk the two men had after the death of young Joey some months ago, the Kid had developed a deep respect for the older man and that he would be more apt to open up to his cousin. He disappeared into the cabin closing the door softly behind him.

The Kid sat in the chair beside Salem and with a quick glance sideways saw he was holding an open locket. Curry said nothing but looked toward the bunkhouse letting the man dictate when the time was right to talk. Both men sat silently for several minutes, then, Salem closed his eyes sighing heavily as he handed the locket to the man sitting beside him.

"My wife and son."

The Kid blinked in surprise. "Didn't know you were married," he said as he took the locket, looking down at the tiny photos of a young woman and a baby. "Real pretty woman."

Salem smiled. "Rose and me'd known each other for years. I was almost thirty five when I got home from the war and she didn't care that she was twelve years younger than me…that woman proposed to me," he chuckled softly. "We'd bin married for almost five years and pretty much given up on bein' able to have any kids when Joseph come along." He smiled thinking back to the birth of his son. "We were real happy those first few years of marriage, then work got real hard to find so I ended up havin' to sign on to drive cattle." He paused and the Kid waited patiently. "She left me nearly twenty years ago when Joseph was only four. Told me she needed a man who was home, not one that was gone months at a time. Seemed it was my best friend Martin that turned out to be the man she needed."

He stopped talking and gazed unseeing off into the distance. "That was my brother Josiah in town today. Told me there'd bin an accident…Marty, Rose and Joseph were killed when the stage they were in lost a wheel and flipped over."

"I'm real sorry to hear that Salem. You'll be wantin' to leave…"

Salem cut him off. "They've already bin buried and he grew up thinkin' Marty was his pa so guess I ain't got no right, but…" he said his voice trailing off.

"You got every right, Joseph was your son. Even if he did look on Marty as his pa, he was your blood."

Salem stayed silent.

"How long's it bin since you seen him?"

Salem frowned as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Don't rightly remember but must be nigh on fifteen years or so…he'd just turned six…or was it seven? I always sent money back home to Josiah so's he could get him somethin' for his birthday and Christmas… called Josiah uncle even though he didn't know they was related…I was grateful to Rose for that at least."

A kick at the door had the Kid getting to his feet to open it and Heyes came out, three cups in one hand, coffeepot in the other and a bottle of whiskey under his arm. Heyes rolled his eyes when his cousin helped by taking the whiskey and setting it on the railing. Heyes poured coffee in the three cups putting a generous splash of liquor in one handing it to Salem before adding a bit less whiskey in the other two cups. Heyes leaned back against the porch rail sipping at his coffee and waited.

Salem, who rarely if ever drank hard liquor, silently drained his cup. Taking a deep breath he looked at Heyes. "I think I gotta leave Heyes. The Kid can fill ya in on all the particulars, but I need to go and pay my respects to…my son."

Hearing those last words Heyes turned shocked eyes on his cousin who simply shook his head slightly.

"I'd appreciate it if I could come back when…when…"

"You'll always be welcome as long as me and the Kid are here. You take as long as you need."

"Where are they buried?" Curry asked softly. Heyes dug his elbow into his ribs causing the Kid to grunt and glare at him.

The older man chuckled at them. "S'all right Heyes. They're buried in Salem Utah. It's bin a lot o' years since I bin back…wonder how much it's changed."

"When ya plannin' on leavin'?"

"Well Kid, reckon I'll be headin' out in the mornin' at first light."

"Come say goodbye before you leave."

"I'll be sure to do that Heyes," he said with a nod. Getting to his feet Salem headed to the bunkhouse to pack his few meager belongings and tell the rest of the boys that he was leaving.

XXX

Most of the gang was still sleeping when Salem walked out of the bunkhouse the next morning, but he'd already said his goodbyes last night. The only other person that seemed to be up was Hank and he was feeding the horses. Salem saddled his horse, sliding his rifle into the scabbard after checking to make sure it was fully loaded before securing his saddlebags and bedroll. Seeing Heyes and the Kid step out of the leaders' cabin, he walked across to them leading his horse. Silently he shook their hands not trusting his voice…this place had become home and these people family.

"Take care of yourself Salem," Heyes said with a small smile.

"Watch your back," Curry said seriously.

Salem merely smiled and nodded, then mounted his horse and as the two men watched he took one last look around. He gave a nod to Hank who had raised his hand in farewell, then headed out of Devil's Hole without looking back. Curry took a few steps away from the cabin, standing with his thumbs tucked into his belt, staring after him as he disappeared. He heard Heyes' footsteps as he approached.

"Don't feel right lettin' him go by himself, he's wanted too."

"He's got a good head on his shoulders Kid you know that. He'll be careful."

His cousin sighed. "Wonder if we'll see him again."

"Told me he figured he'd be back in about four weeks."

Curry turned his head to eye his cousin. "When'd he tell ya that?"

"Last evenin' when you'd gone to the privy," Heyes admitted, grinning as he draped an arm casually over his partner's shoulder. "Now c'mon, he also told me to make sure you got somethin' to eat this mornin'…seems the whole gang knows how proddy you get when you miss breakfast."

The Kid's eyes narrowed as he scowled at his partner. "Aww Heyes I ain't that bad."

Hank happened to be passing close by and overheard them. He couldn't resist…"Yeah Kid, ya are," he said winking at Heyes as he scurried away chuckling.

Seeing his cousin's eyes widen in disbelief as he watched Hank hurry away, Heyes burst out laughing and patted his friend on the back. As if on cue his stomach growled, so with a sigh of defeat and one last glance in the direction Salem had gone, the gunfighter allowed Heyes, who was still laughing, to give him a gentle shove in the direction of their cabin…and breakfast.