Winter's Refuge

Chapter Thirty-Nine

JED 'KID' CURRY

I feel a feelin' of freedom as I walked down the hall lookin' for Doctor Arden. I'm alone for the first time since I left the dark cell. It hurts to walk. I hope he's not too far. My thigh muscles clench and release with each step, but I learned how to bury that pain in my thoughts. I arch my back every few steps. Even the light hospital gown feels heavy where it touches the wounds on my back. Tentatively, I looked in each room for Dr. Arden as I walked past. I see Marina sittin' in an empty room with the window open, readin' a book. I nod to her. She doesn't return the gesture.

I don't want to admit it but I'm tirin' fast. I saw the doctor sittin' out on the small courtyard at the end of the hall. I'm not sure I could make it that far, but I was on a mission for Chrissy to find him and make sure he wasn't feelin' guilty. I would do it for her. I was angry he had scared her. I took a deep breath and practiced standin' up straighter and tall.

I take my time with the last ten steps, the pains I tried to bury are resurfacin'. I'm angry at myself that I can't control it. Dr. Arden must have heard me comin' because he turned around, stood up, and came to me.

"Jed, what are you doing here? You walked here, all this way, by yourself?"

He eased me into a chair. It feels good to be outside, breathin' fresh air, lookin' at the sky.

"Chrissy sent me to talk to you."

"Oh my! I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't mean to upset her. I've been sitting here worrying about it. If you weren't objecting to the hug, maybe it wasn't hurting that bad."

"Oh, it hurt, Aiden. Hurt real bad. But I was helpin' her through a nightmare and that was more important. Also felt nice havin' my arms around her."

"I'm sorry. I saw her huddled in the corner. I didn't know what to do."

"I did and she's fine. She sent me to make sure that the good doctor doesn't feel guilty," I said with a smile.

"She did? The good doctor?" Aiden asked.

"Yes, she did, and the good doctor is what she calls you. Dr. Lewis, the man that broke into our home and almost cut her throat, is the bad doctor."

Now he smiled. "Wasn't he the one that tried to turn you and Heyes in and got Chrissy arrested?"

"Yeah. He's in prison himself now, in Nebraska. Heard at his trial he kept sayin' what he did was legal. That there's a poster out on her wanted dead or alive."

The doctor nodded, but I could tell he was watchin' me sit very straight so my back did not touch the chair and on the edge so my bottom just barely touched the seat.

Suddenly, he looked at me in alarm. "Where is she?"

"She's in my room. Paul went back in there with her. Either Juan or Paul is always with her."

"They don't wear guns?"

"No, but they both know how to use guns better than most men. Grew up with the McWinter boys. But both Ortiz brothers are deadly with a knife, and you can be sure they are carryin' them."

LOM

I didn't understand Heyes' drawings and plans and asked the wrong questions. Finally, he grunted something, pushed it aside and wrote on his chalkboard, "Old newspapers?"

"Not sure where they are kept. I'll ask Frank. But they won't be coming to you. You'll have to go to them."

A tremor went through his body. "Need."

"I'm telling you the archives don't leave the building. Not sure if a copy is kept here or not. The paper comes from Bridgeport."

He pointed to 'Need' again on his chalkboard.

ASJ*****ASJ

The next morning the foreman of the Circle E ranch came early to pick up Speed of Flight. The workers hadn't even arrived yet. I know that Heyes had grown attached to the horse.

"Do you want to bring her out to us?" I asked him when I saw the man coming up the road.

Violently, he shook his head and ran out the back door of the barn. I let him go.

The foreman, Norwood Brown, was a big man and his eyes constantly searched around the ranch looking for something, even after I brought Speed of Flight out to him. He gave me the payment but paid little attention to the invoice or even his horse, still searching for something. I wondered if Heyes was hiding somewhere, watching.

"Hear there's a woman here I'm interested in," he growled. He handed me a copy of Chrissy's poster. "I aim to leave with her one way or the other."

Wishing I had put my gun on before I left the house, I didn't back down. "She's not here."

"My associate says she never leaves here. Curry and Heyes leave, but she's always here."

"She's not here," I repeated.

His gun was in his hand. He was almost as quick as the Kid. "Just think I'll take a look for myself." He kept his gun focused on me as he walked around me and went into the house.

'You're coming with me, Lom. Not leaving you out here to hide her or something."

I was glad I hadn't given him my last name or my title when I introduced myself. I knew the house was empty, but I didn't know where Heyes had wandered off to. I thought of grabbing my gun that hung by the front door as I walked by but I'm not that fast. He stomped through every room, looking in the closets and under each bed. He brandished the gun at me at every opportunity.

"Where is she?" Brown demanded, angry now.

"She's not here. You know that poster's not valid here in Nebraska."

"A bounty's a bounty. Just got to get her to the nearest sheriff." His tone was arrogant, greedy. "And that's a lot of money. You better not interfere when I take her. The poster says dead or alive."

His tone sent a shiver through me,

When he finished with the house, he headed for the stables. He searched every stall and each stock room. Again, I wondered where Heyes was.

Throwing the door to each stall wide open, he forcefully stuck a pitchfork into the hay. He was growling to himself now as he thumped to the barn. I closed each stall as he finished. The cow mooed loudly at his noisy intrusion. Suddenly, I thought I knew where Heyes was. It was only a glimpse of an overhead shadow I'd seen. I had to keep this man from looking up. As he approached the back of the barn, he walked close to the ladder to Juan's rooms. Timing it perfectly, Heyes propelled himself off the top rungs and onto the man. He was focused on the gun and hit the man's wrist, sending the gun spinning on the floor toward me. I grabbed it and held it on him.

"You need some help in here?" I let out a sigh of relief as I heard Russell's voice from the front of the barn.

HEYES

My heart was beating like a frightened animal as the man with the gun approached where I was hidden. I have to be careful. I can't touch that gun, or I will go to prison. I jumped and knocked him down using my weight and my wrist against his to knock the gun loose. I was thankful it went toward Lom.

I laid across the man. He's big, kicking and trying to bite. I used to be a good fighter. At the Hole, a lot of men challenged me at first, but I'm a crafty fighter and I didn't always fight fair. Big or small, there was only one man who could beat me in a fight in those days, the Kid. At first, I fought often in prison. It seemed like the only diversion from hours of monotonous work was fighting.

But fighting led to the whip and the whip was followed by the dark cell. And I got lost in the darkness. I'm out of practice, but I know this fight is very important. This man was holding a gun on Lom. Lom is my friend. He is taking care of me. And this man had Chrissy's poster. He wanted her bounty. He would have killed her. So, when I knocked the man down, I started swinging at his head to keep him down until I heard Lom tell him, "Stand up slowly."

Then I backed away and saw the construction supervisor come to help. Now I'm back in the corner shaking. In prison when I fought, I was whipped. Does Lom have a whip? No, this fight was self-defense, I shouldn't be whipped. That's a good thing. But I came close to touching the gun when I jumped on him. A gun… I can't touch a gun, any gun. I have my knife in my boot, but I left it there. I needed all my body weight to knock him over.

JED 'KID' CURRY

Me and Dr. Arden sat in the courtyard quietly for a few minutes while I rested.

"Aiden, I wanna go home."

"I know, Jed, but your risk of infection is still high. Even though it's low now, you always have a fever, and it seems to spike at night."

I nodded. No matter how strong I was, I wouldn't argue with this doctor that I respected and considered my friend. "I saw Marina Ortiz sittin' in one of the empty rooms when I walked down here."

"Still don't see how you walked this far by yourself."

"Just a matter of puttin' one foot in front of the other. When I got lashes in prison, didn't have the luxury of recoverin' in a hospital. Had to work the forge the next day… or expect more lashes."

"You are an exceptionally strong man in mind and body, Jed Curry, whether you know it or not. For now, rest and take care of yourself for a change. All your responsibilities are waiting for you when you get home. And yes, Mrs. Ortiz asked if she could stay in there. Seems like there is some bad blood between her and Miss McWinters?"

I knew he was curious, and it might help if he knew the reason. Perhaps he could stop another flareup between them.

"I'm that bad blood." It was hard to admit it, the words hurt. "The Ortiz family helped raise Chrissy. They blame the wounded outlaw that landed at Winter's Refuge one night and stole her heart, then left her pregnant, and for everything that happened afterwards…and they're right. It's my fault. It weighs heavy on me. Heyes didn't know what was gonna happen when he brought me there …and then we left. I can tell you one thing, if I didn't have the care they gave me, I would have died that night."

"That's right, you told me you two already had a child. Okay, that's why Mrs Ortiz doesn't like you…but Miss McWinters, why doesn't she like Mrs. Ortiz?"

"Mrs. Ortiz isn't too happy with me and Chrissy bein' together and said so with some words and her attitude when she first arrived. Chrissy told her to leave."

"Oh…"

The pain was settlin' in my thighs. I knew I needed to stand up before it got worse. It's hard only usin' one hand on the armrest of the chair to push myself up. The first time when I was halfway up, I sat back down hard. My back hit the wooden slats of the chair and arched in pain before I could control it. "Oww," a small gasp escaped.

"Jed, sorry, my mind was elsewhere. Let me help you up. I can send for a rolling chair if you like."

I accepted his support but waved off the rolling chair. I nodded at Mrs. Ortiz again as I passed, as did Aiden.

"Doctor," she said with a nod of her head, ignorin' me. I understood her feelin's. I thought I'd just keep being polite to her and see if she softened.

Back in the room, Juan and Paul were playin' cards and Chrissy was readin'. Dr Arden went over to apologize to Chrissy. I went to the Ortiz brothers.

"Just wanted to thank you both for bein' here and watchin' over Chrissy. I worry when I can't be the one to protect her."

"Jed, I told you from the start, I was there for Miss Chrissy. We aren't gonna let nothing happen to her." Juan was sincere.

"Any problems? Anyone suspicious?"

Paul looked annoyed. Juan answered, "No one, although Paul sees threats around every corner. We've got Miss Chrissy; you just work on healing." I saw him thinkin' about the wounds on my back.

"Havin' Chrissy here and knowin' you're watchin' over her, I can do just that."

HEYES

When Russell, our construction supervisor, brought me the first newspaper this morning, he pointed to the headline. "Now that's a story you should read." Lom was busy so I nodded my thanks and took it in my bedroom.

WARDEN OF WYOMING TERRITORIAL PRISON IN CHEYENNE RELIEVED OF HIS POSITION

Yesterday, Henry Fitzjohn was relieved of his position as warden of the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Cheyenne amid accusations of extreme brutality, murder, and attempted murder. He was warden for less than four of the prison's guards were also arrested on similar charges, which include an assault on the Governor of Wyoming with a billy club.

Doctor Aiden Arden, who works at the prison, testified at least two prisoners were murdered by water and food laced with rat poison while in the dark cell. A third survived by not drinking the tainted water. It is rumored that the prisoner who survived death is the noted outlaw gang leader and Fastest Gun in the West, Jed "Kid" Curry. Although the sources were reliable, this paper does not believe the rumor. The 'Kid' received a pardon and an amnesty almost nine months ago and no longer resides in Wyoming.

According to government sources, the warden and the three prison guards dismissed with him may face criminal charges.

Mr. Lyle Kelly,, the former warden who had resigned to serve on the governor's staff, and Mr. Colin Apperson, currently an aide to the governor, will serve as the interim and assistant wardens while the search for the next warden is conducted. This is a governor appointed position.

When this reporter attempted to find the now ex-warden Henry Fitzjohn, it was learned that he had fled the state. His whereabouts are unknown.

I set it down and thought about what I had read. Warden Fitzjohn had left me alone when he started. He put Dr. Arden in charge of me. I'm broken and I bet he thought I would never get out of there. When I did and came to get the Kid out, he called me a sniveling mute. But this is the man that whipped the Kid with a cat o'nine tails. I saw his back afterwards. That was no ordinary whipping. The dark cell alone could have killed him after that whipping, but he poisoned the water, too. I hate him.

Then I started to try and think harder about why he hated the Kid and not me. I didn't know. I had no idea about it. Sometimes my mind just goes blank like this.

So, I looked through the paper for one of the articles I was really looking to find. But there was nothing today. I brought the paper to the kitchen table and left it there for Lom. On a calendar I had found in the kitchen drawer, I wrote 'None' on today's square.

JED 'KID' CURRY

Last night Dr. Arden must have given me a larger dose of pain medicine. I slept for at least eight hours. I'm more relaxed now that my bed was moved and I can see the whole room. Havin' people sittin' quietly behind me made me very, very nervous. Chrissy is sleepin' with her head leanin' on her arms on my bed. Even sleepin', I think she's beautiful. When I concentrate, I can hear her breathin' softly. The sweet rhythm lulls me back to sleep.

Even bein' near Chrissy doesn't stop my dark dreams from emergin'. I am sleepin' then the sharp bite of Master Heigle's whip across my back wakes up. I try not to, but I arch my back in pain and a strong groan escapes.

"Jed?"

Chrissy is here, I hear her voice. I can't let Master Heigle whip her.

"JED!"

I open my eyes and I'm in my hospital bed with Chrissy touchin' my forehead gently. But the pain in my arched back is very real and I groan again.

"I get doctor?" Chrissy asks softly and I can just make out another person sleepin' across the room in the shadows.

I sat up slowly, controllin' the burnin' in my back as it was stretched. The pain is less. I have worked the forge with worse. I want to go home.

"No, gotta pee," I said and nodded to the door with my head for her to leave.

"Juan stay," she answered, pointin' to him sleepin' in the shadows. Her movement woke him. He saw the chamber pot I had pulled from beneath the bed and understood. He hurried after Chrissy closin' the door behind him.

I had just finished when my door banged open and an upset Chrissy hurried in. "Marina, here. You know?"

"Yes, the doctor let's her and Paul stay in an empty room a few doors down."

"You knew and no tell Chrissy darling?" Upset, she started referrin' to herself by name again.

"She's not hurtin' anything and I like that Paul's here for extra security."

Freezing, she thought about that for a moment. "Okay, good."

"Chrissy, I understand why she doesn't like me. I fell in love with you. She's right. All that happened to you was my fault."

"No. You bring love."

I smiled at her response. "Can we go down the hall and talk to her? Just to say thank you for comin' to help maybe?"

Again, she stood very still lookin' for a long time at a spot beyond my shoulder. "Good."

Juan gave a sigh of relief from the doorway, and I gave him a little smile as the three of us walked down the hall. Mrs. Ortiz was foldin' the blankets and makin' the beds she and Paul had slept in.

"Chrissy?" she said tentatively without approachin', but I could hear hope in her voice.

Chrissy took my arm, leaned into my side and said nothing for a moment. She broke the silence first. "Chrissy and Jed come to tell Marina and Paul thank you for coming."

Mrs. Ortiz folded her hands and brought them up to her chin. I could see her tears flowing.

"You're welcome, sweetie."

I stepped back near the door to watch the reunion continue but closed the door quickly. I motioned for quiet, and Juan made sure that his ma and Chrissy understood. I think they knew by the look on my face something was wrong. I opened the door a crack to listen.

"Nurse, we need your help." I could only make out the two men from the sides. Both wore their guns tied down. "Nurse, now!"

"I'm helping…"

I don't know what she said but I could see her face and she was scared.

"Which room is Kid Curry's?"

Paul, standin' next to me, took in a big breath then covered his mouth with his hands when he realized the noise he had made. The men didn't seem to hear.

"Are you friends of Mr. Curry's?" The nurse was lookin' around for help to no avail.

"Which room?" he growled.

"Room three." She pointed to the room we had just left.

I saw Paul had his knife in his hand and I felt for my absent gun. I glanced around and Juan had moved his ma and Chrissy into the far corner. He stood in front of them holdin' a knife in each hand. Good man.

The moment the men turned their back on the nurse, I saw her head for the stairs.

I heard the bed in my room and the chairs bein' thrown around. "He ain't here!" Where is he?" one of the men bellowed. It loudly echoed throughout the floor.

My heart sank as I saw Arden walk down the hall toward the noise. "This patient is not allowed visitors. What are you doing in here?" I heard him say indignantly as he entered the room.

"Well if it isn't the bleeding heart, convict-loving doctor whose testimony got us fired," one of the men said with a laugh that sounded more like a growl. "Let's show him how we feel about him with something he'll remember for a long time. I heard a struggle and Aiden's voice crying out in pain. Paul pushed me back and motioned me to stay as he slipped out into the hallway. Looking in her pocketbook, Chrissy pushed her way by Juan and came to me. I waved her back and turned to the door again.

I felt her press something into my hand. It was Heyes' gun. She had brought Heyes' gun with her from the ranch! I nodded my thanks, and she scurried back to huddle with Mrs. Ortiz behind Juan. I checked it was loaded and realized my hospital gown didn't have a waistband to hold it. I held it in front of me in my hand so Paul could see it when he looked. The muscles in my shoulder tightened as I struggled to help the gun level. 'No time for pain,' I told myself.

"I don't care who you are. Take us to Kid Curry."

Dr. Arden was pushed from the room, one of the men twistin'' his arm in back of him and holdin' a gun at his shoulder. Paul was ready to throw his knife but when he glanced at me, I motioned for patience. The second man started to exit the room, then stepped back inside. I realized I knew these two. They were guards at the prison. Me and Paul needed to take down both of them at the same time or the doctor would be shot or killed.

"But I don't know where he is if he's not in his room," the doctor's voice was a whine and I could tell he was in pain. "Why are you looking for Jed Curry?"

The taller guard chuckled as he stepped from the room sayin', "Man we know is willing to pay a lot of money for his dead body."

I braced myself for the pain of movement. "No time for pain. No time for pain," I repeated to myself. I motioned to Paul. His knife flew down the hall, embedded itself in the man's hand and the gun bein' held on Dr. Arden fell to the floor. Freed, the doctor stumbled forward.

"Oww!" the intruder yelped in surprise, grabbin' his hand above his wrist. This gave me time to come behind the two men. The pain in my legs from the few runnin' steps threatened to defeat me, but I pushed it away from my thoughts. "No time for pain," I repeated. My only goal was to get the two guns from the men.

"Put your gun down slowly," I said to the trailin' man. "And neither of you move." My gunfighter's stance probably couldn't be seen underneath my hospital gown, but I had assumed it unconsciously. Paul claimed the dropped gun and was holdin' it on the men.

"Aiden, you all right?" You hurt?" I asked without taking my eyes off the men.z

He looked at me too stunned to speak. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the other turning black, his jaw looked broken and his arm hung at his side at an odd angle. "Jed?" he finally said.

"Can you get help?" I asked him.

"Help?" he repeated, lookin' at me then the men standin' before us. "I know you two," he said, then fainted.

Paul saw it first, the stairway door openin' slowly. He walked over and pulled it over to see three policemen and the nurse. "Glad you could make it," he said pointin' to the two men I was holdin' at gunpoint. "Need these men arrested. We got quite a story to tell you."

"Mr. Curry, you should not be out of bed, much less holding a gun," the nurse started to yell at me. I shrugged my shoulders as I had seen Heyes do a lot lately and pointed at Dr. Arden.

"Juan, all clear. I could use your help," I called.

He was next to me in a second, Chrissy and Mrs. Ortiz stood behind me. I went to hand him the gun, but Chrissy grabbed it and pointed it threateningly at the men. Her eyes were ragin' mad. "Why you try and hurt my Jed? Why?" She took a step closer with each word. I was afraid that if she got any closer the men would try and grab the gun…or she would use it. Juan stopped her.

"I'll take the gun. You help Jed." he said patiently.

As she stepped next to me, the pain became stronger than me and I started to collapse. I found myself supported on one side by Chrissy, the other by Mrs. Ortiz, and a policeman in front. I don't remember walkin' to my bed.