Winter's Refuge
Chapter Eighty-Seven
JED 'KID' CURRY
I'm figurin' this trip to Cheyenne and the Wyoming Territorial Prison is goin' to be part of our life every three months for as long as I can see. Ghosts haunt me when I do this trip, especially alone. Painful memories that feel real filled my dreams last night. Chrissy understood and held me tight but I woke up coughin' and finally gave up well before sunrise. I took Joy Christina out of her crib, sat in the rockin' chair, and thought about all the blessin's in my life. Huggin' her makes them real.
With a lingerin' kiss to my sleepy wife, I rode for Bridgeport just as sunrise started to break over the mountains. I smiled at its beauty, the new light bringin' the promise of a new day, a new start. And I wished Chrissy was here to share it with me.
Last night that gray mausoleum they call a prison loomed over every dream. And as I ride, I ponder if Matt's life sentence was preferable to a quick hangin'? Lom told me life is always preferable. Where there is life there is hope. I'm not sure I agree with him.
Arriving in Bridgeport early, I caught the early train to Cheyenne. Few people get on here this early and the cars are half full with sleepy people who rode the train overnight. I didn't have time to get breakfast or see Mike and Mikey, but I will on my way back. I'm not hungry. The mornin' cold is makin' my cough worse but I can ignore it. There's a hurtin' nervous lump in my stomach about this visit that has my attention.. Aiden wired that he'd meet up with me but didn't say where. Thinkin' of Dr. Aiden Arden made me think of Mrs. Denise Roberts. After what happened at the cabin, Colin got the governor to sign a divorce decree for her. Since her husband has already remarried, the reason was his desertion.
The train ride seemed short, pullin' me closer to my hated destination. I thought about Matt, meeker and weaker in spirit than his younger brothers, his destiny was to follow their path. Strength to rebel against it, like Luke did, just wasn't in him. I'm not sure how I'm goin' to locate Aiden when I get there. That sinister buildin' has a way of dominatin' and breakin' those within it. There is no light there; only darkness and pain and despair live in that darkness. I'm worried that it will engulf me.
Aiden wouldn't know I took the early train. Cheyenne was awake but not yet bustlin'. The smell of bacon cookin', one of the joyous scents of breakfast, repels me right now. I admit to myself, I'm scared to enter the prison, afraid it will try and swallow me, too. Findin' the mercantile open, I search through the books for sale and grimace when I see Sletton's latest dime novel. 'Kid Courage takes down the Five Brothers Gang' is the title. Colin had made him sign a paper that said he couldn't write about me or Heyes anymore. And he couldn't write about the hostages either. I skim through the book. Well, he didn't use my name or the McWinters' name but it's kinda close to what happened at Brown River from an observer's point of view. He must have talked to the townspeople there. The character supposed to be Arnie's brother is a hero for tryin' to stop the bank robbery.
"That's the new one from Hauser Slettan. His books are always exciting." The shopkeeper startled me as he spoke.
"Sounds like what happened at Brown River a few months ago," I said, then regretted my words. In the book, Brown River is now a city called Righteous. I didn't want to give him any connections he hadn't thought of.
"It's the exact true story of what happened there," the clerk said enthusiastically. "He changed the names, but Kid Courage is definitely Kid Curry. He's a hero in these parts."
"Thought he was an outlaw?"
"WAS an outlaw. Now one of the greatest heroes of the West."
Surprised, I looked at the book again and thought of the one I had taken from the twins. "Says here he's the fastest gun in the West." I read off the smaller print on the cover.
"He is. Supposed to be so fast you can't even see him draw. Used to be a gunfighter, now he uses his gun for good. You gonna buy that book? I can't keep it in stock."
I realized I was rollin' the book in my hands and foldin' it. "Yeah, alright."
I handed it to him and found a book for Matt. I had brought him Heyes' copy of 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' by Jules Verne. I was surprised my partner volunteered to send one of his books. Even though they are on a shelf in the livin' room now, he's still very protective of them. I don't blame him; those books were his lifeline to sanity when he was in prison. Mine were a sanctuary, lettin' me escape to another place while I was readin'. Three months between visits is a long time so I bought Matt a second book.
The clerk started to wrap them together. "Don't bother wrappin' them, one's a present."
"Certainly. I've inserted a free bookmark in each one." He counted back my change giving me a look that would have made me and Heyes race out of town. "Have a pleasant day, Mr…?"
"Curry," I finished for him, pickin' up my books.
"I knew it! Kid Curry!"
"Used to be," I answered.
The clerk hurried around the corner and extended his hand. "I'm Ted Wilson. Glad to meet you. You read that book and tell me if it's accurate. Wow, Kid Curry!"
"Jed Curry," I corrected him, as I turned and left as quickly as I could. Considerin' my options, I looked up and down the street. It was hours too early to rent a horse and ride out to the prison. I wasn't sure when or where I was goin' to meet up with Aiden either. I walked aimlessly toward the train station, then saw the street where his house was and turned there. Not sure if he's even there, I debated about knockin' on his door unannounced. Aiden spends a lot of nights at the prison. Mrs. Roberts lives here with her nurse companion.
Aiden opened the door barefoot. "Jed?"
I felt foolish. "I took an earlier train and...and… I guess I just didn't know where we were goin' to meet up."
Aiden smiled. He put his arm on my shoulder to lead me through the door, but so gently that it didn't hurt. "Welcome. Have you eaten? Denise is just making breakfast."
"Not really hungry, but maybe a cup of coffee," I told him.
Mrs. Denise Roberts was in the kitchen in an apron, smilin'. I'd never seen her smile before.
"Mr. Curry, so glad to see you. I don't believe I ever thanked you for what you did for me," she said.
I think my mouth must have been hangin' open, I was so surprised at the change in the lady. "Er, you're welcome. Didn't do anything special. Just can't bear to see a woman hit."
She turned and faced me and stamped her foot. "Mr. Curry, you faced a cheating fast gun who had never been outdrawn before ...ever. And you were faster. You risked your life for me. I've never met anyone so brave."
I didn't know what to say, how to react until Aiden told me, "Tell the lady that she's welcome, Jed.
"You're welcome, Mrs. Roberts. Glad I could help you," I said, more in control now. I looked to Aiden for confirmation that I had said the right thing but looked away quickly. I felt like a little boy when his pa tells him what to say. I took a deep breath and thanked Aiden with a look. And I appreciated his help.
"Call me Denise. Now about breakfast, I've made bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy."
HEYES
The Kid left earlier than I thought he would, must have been at the break of dawn. He had forgotten to put the CLOSED sign on the blacksmith shop. I remembered last night. I opened the kitchen door but even with my lantern, I couldn't see more than a few feet. Beyond that, only darkness, black that would consume my soul. Closing the door, I ran to my room. The hall light is always on and the Kid put two lamps in my room. Clutching the sign I had attempted to post, I sat in my chair waiting for dawn, but I fell asleep first.
So now, in the soft light after sunrise, I'm walking down to the shop. No one was there so I moved a table outside. The townspeople knew to leave work there.
When I got back, Auntie was stirring in the kitchen and the baby was crying upstairs. "Go see if you can help Chrissy," Auntie urged me.
Joy Christina was wailing away, still in her crib, and Chrissy was throwing up in the chamber pot. She looked up at me. "No tell Jed," she said before heaving again.
I wasn't sure what she meant but walked over and picked up the baby and cuddled her in my arms. There's something about a baby's innocent, trusting gaze that can reach your heart.
"Water?" asked Chrissy. With one hand, I poured her a glass of water and gave it to her. Standing up, she pushed her hair from her pale face and I suddenly worried that what she had was catching.
I moved Joy away from her. "Don't want the baby catching whatever you got."
Chrissy laughed, started to reach for her baby, then grabbed her stomach instead and was sick again.
"Chrissy, let's get you in bed." Now that Joy had calmed, I put her back in the crib. "Don't want the Kid to come back and find I didn't take care of you."
She laughed again and leaned on me as we headed for the bed. "Chrissy not sick."
"I just saw you getting sick."
She took her hand and put it on her stomach. "Baby. Keep my secret."
JED 'KID' CURRY
Aiden insisted on drivin' his buggy out to the prison. When I first saw it in the distance, a shudder ran down my spine. Aiden saw it. I know he did but he was quiet and my mind focused on findin' the strength to enter the prison with my head held high and my back straight. I'm a free man but I have to fight myself not to instinctively act and think like a prisoner. A mile further, Aiden studied me. "How did you do that?"
"What?"
"Find the strength to believe you are a free man and can walk into that prison knowing you're as good as any guard or marshal?" Aiden answered.
Not understandin', I looked at him. "That's not what I did."
"I've watched you do it before and that's what I saw."
"Just tryin' to stir my courage and walk tall so nobody...well, so…." I needed to decide if I was goin' to confess to this man, my friend, what I was really doin'. He's helped Heyes and Chrissy and now Mrs. Roberts and I do consider him a friend. "Well so nobody knows how scared I am. I can't let the quiet darkness of that place consume me."
I think he was surprised at my answer. "Then I'm glad I am accompanying you and I want to introduce you to someone at the prison."
"Don't really want to see no one but Matt." I coughed after talkin'.
"I understand, but as you know, I am spending a couple of days a week in Three Birds filling in for the doctor. I've come to love that area and I am planning to buy the doctor's office with the house above it and make that my full-time residence. And maybe sometime in the future Denise will consent to be my wife and join me there."
"Aiden, congratulations." I was truly happy that my friend had found love again.
"Way too soon for that, Jed. I'm not sure if the lady even shares my feelings yet. I just needed to tell someone."
"Honored that you confided in me. It won't go no further." A thought hit me. "But Matt?"
"I promised Chrissy I'd watch over him and I will. I mean my brother will. My older brother was so intrigued by my letters and accounts of my life that he has decided to defy father and join me in Wyoming. Dr. Oliver Arden Jr. started the position as chief prison doctor last Monday."
HEYES
I was smiling so much all day that Auntie asked me why I was so happy. I couldn't tell her the reason, so I shrugged my shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the check. She laughed and hit me with her dishtowel. But I think of how Chrissy is sick from being with child. And I think of how she must have suffered when she was pregnant in prison. Because she helped us. I took the injured, maybe dying, Kid to her that night. It's my fault.
After noon, the dogs started barking like they do when strangers start up our road. The sign 'Curry Road' is firmly back in place again. Juan and Rudy were by the front porch.
"Nobody I know," said Juan.
"Can't say I've ever seen them before," Rudy replied.
But I know them and was glad they were there, Arnie Weber and Glen Chinelli. After talking with me and Chrissy, the Kid sent them a telegram that jobs were waiting for them here. I wish the Kid was here to welcome them. We hadn't told the Ortiz brothers about the hostages, just saying we were on a job for the governor. But I introduced them as new hands, friends of the Kid and me. They were trail tired and nervous so, for now, I put them in the spare downstairs bedroom and told them they could rest. But they didn't want to rest and gravitated to Juan who gave them a tour of the ranch and put them to work.
Auntie drove the wagon into town and picked up the twins from school. They had seen the newcomers mending fences when they came up our road.
"They're friends of Papa's?" Michael asked me.
"And me."
"Papa never talked about them," Martha challenged.
"Never think you know all of your pa's friends, little girl. You'll meet them at dinner."
JED 'KID' CURRY
The prison seemed to have grown every time I come here. I hope Aiden knows I'm glad he came with me. I have a box of food that Auntie packed for Matt with cheese, cookies, half a pie, and some beef jerky. Chrissy insisted on the jerky sayin' it tastes like heaven after prison gruel.
"You goin' in the front door with me, Aiden?" I asked, knowin' he usually enters through the rear employee entrance nearer his office…or his brother's office now.
"Why would I be anywhere else but at your side going into that place?"
Still, I found my legs climbed the front steps slower than his and he was waitin' for me to join him at the top before knockin'. Concentratin' on the task ahead, I pushed my dread aside and smiled at the young guard who opened the door. "Jedediah Curry and Doctor Aiden Arden to visit Matthew McWinters," I said. I know this routine and didn't object when they had me place my gun in the box by the door. I handed him the box of food and two books I had brought for my brother-in-law. Each time I made sure to look the guards in their eyes and show I have no fear of them.
"Follow him." The guard pointed to a trustee that came from somewhere on my right. "No talking!"
I was glad that Aiden was walkin' beside me, with shoulders touchin'. The damp cold in the prison made me cough but when the guard turned and gave me a dirty look, I concentrated on stopping other coughs. I didn't know where we were goin' to visit with Matt. I had always visited with Heyes in the doctor's outer office. That's where we were taken now. I looked at Aiden. He nodded to go in and the door was closed behind us.
In that instant, Aiden changed. He respected the man behind his old desk.. He shook hands with the man as they stood next to the desk. He said this was his older brother but the difference in their ages couldn't be much. Aiden was slightly taller. Oliver was slightly heavier.
"Oliver, I'd like you to meet my friend, Jed Curry," Aiden said.
I held out my hand and was surprised at the strength of the return handshake. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. Arden."
"I hope we can be on a first name basis as you are with my brother. Please call me Oliver. I've heard a lot about you in Aiden's letters."
"It's Jed," I answered, then gave Aiden a curious look. Just what had he shared about us with his brother in his letters?
We were interrupted by a familiar sound of a man walkin' in shackles outside the door followed by a firm knock.
"Enter," said Oliver.
With a guard on either side of him, Matt walked in, head bowed, shoulders curled forward. He'd lost weight and by the way he moved I knew he had been beaten recently. His ankles were restricted but his hands were free.
"That will be all," Aiden dismissed the guards but they looked to his brother.
"Yes, yes that will be all. And knock before entering when time is up."
"Yes, doctor," the older guard replied.
I knew they were outside the door waitin'. But the door was too thick to hear through if we spoke quietly.
"Matt," I started, but Oliver cut me off.
"Take off your shirt. Let me see how you are healing," he ordered.
Lookin' embarrassed, Matt didn't meet my eyes. "McWinters, I will examine you and perhaps redo your stitches while you visit. That will give you more time," the doctor explained.
"Hi Matt, Chrissy sends her love. She sent you a box of food and I brought you a couple of books," I said. He nodded but didn't answer. Still lookin' down, he slowly removed his shirt. I could tell the movement caused him pain.
"She insisted on sendin' you some jerky. Can you look at me?" I asked.
Aiden whispered somethin' to his brother. Oliver was removin' a bandage with some blood soak through from under Matt's arm. Aiden's sure hands were helpin' him try not to pull healin' skin off with the bandage.
"Sorry. McWinters, you may speak freely and look us in the eyes. No barbaric restrictions like that in here."
Matt raised his head and stretched his neck until he was lookin' at the ceilin'."
"How is she?" He brought his head down and looked at me.
"Doin' well. She wanted to come but she can't leave the baby yet."
He smiled. "And Joy Christina?"
"Beautiful, well, growin'."
"Ahh," he groaned as the bandage came off. It was a shiv wound and recent.
Aiden was holdin' a fresh bandage to the wound to stop the bleedin'. Now that I could see his back, I was wrong. He hadn't been whipped, but his chest and body showed the bruises of a fight.
Dr. Oliver inspected the wound. "Hold still as you can. These stitches are going to hurt and I'm not allowed to give you a drink of whiskey to help the pain."
Matt nodded and kept his attention on me. "Tell me about Martha and Michael."
I told him about their poker experience at school and their energy at home. And the ranch and the new foals.
"The hostages Mark was holdin'?"
I kept talkin'. I knew that concentratin' on my words was helpin' with his pain. Aiden knew their stories but this was new for Oliver. I told Matt everythin'. Well, almost everythin' except the gunfight in the barn and the fact that Janice Dent was pregnant with his child. Baby should be here already, I think.
I think to impress his brother, Aiden broke in tellin' about my showdown and how I outdrew Harrison Roberts.
"The Harrison Roberts?" asked Matt. "He called out one of the gang members over a salon girl. I never saw anyone draw that fast, not even Bobby Bell. You outdrew him? Saw you outdraw Bobby Bell when I was a kid. Always knew you were fast."
"He did." Aiden sounded like he was braggin' about me and I needed to change the subject.
"What happened to you?" I asked
"McWinters name is not popular with other gang members in here. He has been moved to another cell block," Oliver explained.
"Didn't want to fight. Tryin' to mind my own business in here. Two members of the Crooked River Gang in here wouldn't let me. Johnny killed one of their gang in a gunfight that wasn't exactly fair. Got their revenge by jumpin' me."
"He will recover." I noticed Oliver's eastern accent was more pronounced than Aiden's. He'd told me once that he worked hard to talk 'western'. It worked; I don't hear an accent when he talks.
"You need anything?" I asked Matt.
He gave me a small smile and it was the same smile Chrissy gives me sometimes when I ask her a silly question.
"Freedom. A look at the sky each morning. The smell of the trees."
"Yeah, I know," I acknowledged sadly.
"A warm blanket, heavy socks, long johns maybe?"
I thought of the things I'd missed when locked up. "Knit cap maybe? Gloves? Candles? If I bring paper and a pencil, will you write to Chrissy?"
Before he answered, I caught a look in his eyes and knew he wasn't going to tell me the whole truth. "If she'll write back. Letters are a relief to the bleakness here. Doctor?"
Now I was sure he was holdin' somethin' back but I decided not to press him. He's not my brother, he's my brother-in-law and an in-law I don't know very well.
Oliver was just finishin' the bandage on the restitched shiv wound when he answered, "Almost forgot. There's a letter to his sister in my drawer. Agreed to do it this way so it wasn't read by the guards. I did read it and there's nothing the guards would cut out."
"Aiden?" He looked to his brother while startin' to clean his instruments. Aiden went to the desk and took out the envelope, handin' it to me.
A knock on the door startled me and I watched as Matt changed into the ideal prisoner, head down, attitude submissive. When I held out my hand, he raised eyes the color of my wife's and I saw gratitude there. "Chrissy will be with me next time. Stay strong."
He walked meekly in front of the guards without a look back at us. And I thought what life in prison really meant. I had told him to stay strong and now I'm thinkin' what for? I'd heard of suicides among the lifers when I was incarcerated. I understand their hopelessness now. And I will do everythin' to make sure Matt isn't one of them.
When Matt had gone, the doctor brothers said they needed to talk quickly and I should wait here in the outer office. I walked to the familiar window and looked up at the horizon. I was lost in my thoughts and didn't hear the door open.
"Curry?" said a familiar voice behind me. I straightened my back and took the emotion off my face before I turned around.
"Senior Guard Mays?"
"Was told you were here visiting McWinters. Good to see you. He a member of your old gang?" He extended his hand as he talked and he was smilin'.
"No, my brother-in-law," I replied without thinkin' and wished I hadn't given a guard so much information.
"Heard you were married and own an excellent horse ranch. You've come a long way in a short time."
"Yes." I almost said sir out of habit but caught myself. I felt awkward talkin' with the guard who had almost been a friend while I was in the railroad prison camp.
Into the silence between us he offered, "McWinters has adjusted to life here. Seems too nice to have a life sentence but he rode with his brothers." He got a puzzled look on his face. "Weren't you the one that brought them down in some small town? They your wife's kin?"
I didn't answer and he studied me before he smiled. "You don't have to answer my questions anymore. Some things don't need to be discussed. He's been transferred to my cellblock. No gang members there that are holding a grudge against him that we know."
I stayed silent and he kept talking. "I'll watch out for him when I can. He hasn't caused any trouble except that fight and he was the victim. But he's a lifer and with them it's the quiet ones we learned we got to watch."
"Thank you, Mays," I answered. It was the first time I'd addressed him without a title. "I brought him two books and a box of food…"
"Already inspected it. That's where I saw your name. It'll be on his cot when he returns to his room."
"Thank you, again."
We shook hands again and he left. I looked up out the window at the expanse of clouds in the sky. This was somethin' else to think about.
"Time to get going, Jed. I've sent for our escort," Aiden said as he entered the room. From the way he formally shook his brother's hand, I don't think they was real close.
I remind myself I'm not a prisoner. I'm free to come and go as I please but there is a guard walkin' in front and another trailin' us and my heart's beatin' fast as the terrors of the one night I spent in this jail that almost killed me. I understand Heyes' need to escape. But he has a safe place in his mind. I don't. I put my arm out to touch the wall on one side to remind me my hands are loose. Forcin' myself to take long steps, I try to shake the feelin' of shackles. Finally, we are to the door. The guard points to the box and I find my gun and holster.
"Carry it outside. You can put it on then," the guard ordered and just from the tone of his voice I wanted to rebel and fasten it around my waist. But I didn't. Not because it was what I was asked, but because I was afraid to disobey a guard.
Aiden pushed me forward and the door closed in back of us. He didn't ask if I was alright. He knew I was tryin' to right myself after bein' inside those walls.