Winter's Refuge

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One

HEYES

And just like that it was time for Sam to graduate from Miss Duhamel's school, with honors no less! School year still has some months to go, but his teacher said he's learned everything she can teach him. He's looking forward to working and studying law with Mr. Kolmand for the rest of the school year. He prefers an office to a ranch. This weekend he's going to Denver with me and Mr. Kolmand to take some kind of entrance test for the eastern college where he wants to go. Me and the Kid don't really understand what they mean by scholarship; we can pay whatever it costs. But Mr. Kolmand says it's not because we can't pay but because Sam is smart. He expects him to do well on his test. This is the first time that Sam will use his new legal name of Samuel Curry, leaving the name James Samuel Doubleday Junior buried behind him in Three Birds.

I'm worried about leaving my family, but Angie and the Kid assured me things should be quiet for the long weekend we will be gone.

Last night, I was helping Auntie dry the dishes and Angie sat at the table nursing Nettie. We were talking about this trip…again.

"Heyes, Sam can't go all the way to Denver alone. And I certainly can't go. You need to go," Angie said, as I planted a kiss on her cheek and one on our nursing baby's hair. I still can't believe I'm a pa.

"I waited a long time to find the perfect wife, Mrs. Angie Heyes. Don't get on me about not ever wanting to leave her…or the beautiful daughter she gave me."

"She is beautiful, isn't she?"

"Just like her mama," I answered. It is almost perfect joy here with my wife and daughter. Almost perfect because a fear that something will happen to one of them nags at the back of my mind. I've been like this since I was a kid, when things are going right, I worry. Always been that way. "I want to give you and her the world and the stars and anything your heart desires."

Angie got that twinkle in hazel eyes that first made me fall in love with her. "Don't want the stars, just want my husband to go with my son, Sam, on his first trip to Denver to take his entrance test. I trust Mr. Kolmand but…"

"Our son."

She smiled when I corrected her.

"He needs a parent there. I agree. Although by his age, me and the Kid had run away from Valparaiso and were on our own."

She laughed, a deep laugh. "And we all know what that led to."

"You know, Sam asked me today if he could call me pa?"

"And you said…?" she asked, with a wide smile.

"Said I'd be honored. You have anything to do with this?"

"No, it's all his idea, but I figured it might be coming since Nettie was born. He sat in here yesterday and was whispering to her about how lucky she was to have us as parents."

I could do nothing but smile…and worry that something would go wrong. "Of course, I'll go. He does need a parent with him…but I really don't like being away from you or Nettie," I told her.

"Heyes, have I ever thanked you for marrying me and bringing me into this family. It's nothing like my family back home. I didn't know people could care so much for others."

ASJ*****ASJ

As I got ready to go, I reviewed again why it was okay to leave and take Sam to Denver. Angie and Nettie will be fine and fussed over by everyone here. Chrissy isn't due for a while. We have three visiting mares who have another full week here before leaving. So, everything should be busy but quiet. Ken's Boot and Shoe Emporium is just about finished, and he said that Winny will be coming down to see the grand opening.

So, our train trip to Denver was uneventful except Sam was so excited he pointed out everything he saw out the window. After a while his enthusiasm was contagious and I really looked out the window at the cows and the fields and the houses, big and small, and thought how each one had a family of its own. When we got to the hotel in Denver, Sam's eyes were big at the size of the place and our hotel room. It was just the two of us, as Mr. Kormand has family here that he will stay with.

The highlight of the evening was Miss Clementine Hale met me and Sam for dinner.

Clem hasn't changed; she's just as cute and energetic as ever. "Heyes!" she exclaimed. Outside the restaurant, she started to jump into my arms, but stopped and looked at me. I haven't been able to gain back the weight I lost in prison so I must look skinny to her. But I'm getting stronger every day. Instead, she grabbed me into an embrace with hugs and kisses.

I hugged her back, but over her shoulder I saw the look of shock on Sam's face. I turned Clem around. "Clem, I'd like you to meet my stepson, Sam."

"You're married and a pa!? Hi Sam, I'm Clementine Hale, an old friend of your pa's," she said, sticking out her hand for him to shake, smile as friendly as ever.

"Sam Curry. Please to meet you, ma'am," he answered, proud to try out his new last name.

"Curry?" Clem looked at me. "Not Heyes?"

"It's a long story, Clem, and a choice I support. Let's go eat and I'll explain."

JED 'KID' CURRY

Jeff Birde asked me to make a brass back plate with doorknobs for his home. I haven't seen much of him since he took the job to lead our City Council.

"Jed, your locks are selling well. I'll take everyone you can make and I'm going to raise the price," Jeff said, hidin' a yawn. "And I've had some requests for those hinges you designed. Any time to make them?"

"Good to hear about the locks, but I want everyone to be able to buy them. No time for hinges right now. Maybe after Chrissy has the baby. Now about this brass backplate, how fancy do you want it?" I asked, leanin' on the counter at the mercantile.

Smilin' with tired eyes, Jeff said, "Just something the wife will like. She says we need something more impressive now that I head the City Council."

"How's that goin'?"

"Not well. I'm not my father. I don't like to be in charge. The rest of the council still see me as Fritz's oldest boy, not a man on my own. Can't stop them from arguing over every little point. They don't respect me. I spend all my non-existent free time on council business, but no one appreciates that. And we get very little accomplished."

"Anything I can help you with as a concerned citizen and friend?" I asked.

"Take the job. I know Uncle Frank asked you first. I can't do it. It'd be natural for you. You always know what to do and people listen when you talk," Jeff pleaded.

I thought before I answered. "No, my friend, I'm not cut out for it either. Don't think Three Birds wants a failure like me to lead the council."

"Jed Curry, you succeed in everything you do. You've helped everyone in this town one way or another. You're as far from a failure as anyone I know!" Jeff argued, lookin' at me funny. "Everyone I know, including me, respects all that you've done."

He doesn't understand at all. "Yeah, they like that an ex-convict is around to volunteer to help when needed so people will forget what he was." I started to walk away.

"My friend, once people around here got to know the man Jed Curry, they forgot about Kid Curry."

"Gotta go." I know he's lyin' to make me feel better about myself. "Let me know if I can help you with the city council projects."

HEYES

Clem tried to talk about old times, but she realized I have a lot of memory holes. She'd try to say something to make me remember, but it's not like the memory is floating around deep in my head to be pulled out. It's gone, like the black holes in the sky I read about. I've learned to just nod when someone mentions something I don't recognize. But if it's the Kid, I tell him I don't remember. He understands and tells me what I need to know.

"Heyes, how are you really? You're skinny," Clem finally asked, leaning over and touching my hand. The concern in her eyes was evident. And Sam looked at me confused.

I needed to word my reply carefully, say enough but not too much. This used to be easy for me to do. I looked into her big brown eyes, as expressive as ever and said, "Prison broke me. The Kid put me back together. But my memory is…is questionable." I tried not to bring the horror of prison to my stepson and my friend.

"That's alright, Heyes, maybe this will help you." She slid a blue envelope across the table to me.

Now this was triggering something in my memory. It took me a second to recall but I don't have all of it. "There's a picture in here, right?"

"Exactly, you remember!" she exclaimed and gave me a kiss on the cheek while Sam watched closely. I know I'm going to have to do some explaining to Angie when I get home.

"Well, I remember it's a very important picture, but…well…but…"

"You don't remember who is in it. Open it and see." Clem's voice was almost patronizing and I hated that. And she saw it on my face. "Oh, Heyes, it's me Clem. I don't care if your memory has holes as long as somewhere in there you remember me." She said it with a laugh, and I understood she was telling the truth.

"I do remember you and growing up together...and all the trouble we got into together with the Kid." I opened the envelope and smiled. It was a picture of me and the Kid and Clem all dressed up in our Sunday best.

"It's the original but I kept a copy," Clem said as I handed the picture to Sam. She studied me intensely. "You don't remember it, do you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I recognized the envelope but not the picture. We sure look young and carefree, don't we?"

Clem put her arm around my shoulders. "You had just become the leaders of the Devil's Hole Gang and pulled your first successful train robbery."

I smiled and lied, "That I remember…but not the picture."

"Is that Uncle Jed?" Sam asked, studying the picture closely. "He looks so much smaller."

Confused, Clem looked at me.

"You haven't seen the Kid since he got out of prison. He's strong, very strong."

Sam added, "Yeah, my friends say Uncle Jed's muscles have muscles. He's so strong he carried someone out of a burning building while supporting another person and he was hurt bad. He helps everybody. He's my hero."

Clem looked at me quickly.

"The Kid's my hero, too. Wouldn't have a life, a wife, stepson, and daughter if it weren't for him. I'd have died in the black cell in prison."

Surprised, Clem asked, "You have a daughter?"

Sam answered for me. "Yup, my sister Nettie's almost a month old. She's real cute. You do know Uncle Jed has kids, too?"

She looked at me and I raised four fingers. "A boy and three girls and another one on the way." I resisted the urge to say two were on the way. The Kid trusted me with that secret, and I trusted him with mine.

Clem pulled her chair closer to me and poured us each more lemonade. "Well, this is going to be a long, long dinner. I need to catch up on what's been happening with you two. I got some letters from the Kid in prison but nothing after, so tell me about this new life."

LOM

Haven't touched alcohol since me and the Kid got back to Porterville. Couldn't if I wanted to. The Kid's got the whole town devoted to keeping me sober. And I appreciate it. And Wayne is my pride and joy. Phyllis still watches him when I work but he's all mine. I shuttered Susan's house and bought a smaller house at the end of town. Even moved most of the green and brown decorations from Wayne's room to our new house. This will be a fine place to raise my boy. Been keeping in touch with the Kid and Heyes too. The Kid knows I'm keeping Preacher's Pact and it's helping me stay sober.

Got a letter from the warden prison in Yuma yesterday. He's still an admirer of Preacher. It talked about him as Convict Jewell throughout the letter, but I read "Preacher" each time I saw "Convict Jewell".

It said Preacher's going to be okay, but he was hurt seriously stopping a prison break. Four of the inmates looked at the chapel as a way out of there. On the other side of the back wall of the chapel is freedom. Preacher thought they were praying and reforming, but they were digging a hole out under that back wall, hidden by the table that served as an altar. On Sundays, he goes early to the chapel to make sure all is ready. He preaches to the warden and guards, as well as the inmates. The guard take his shackles off outside the door and let him have quiet time in there, something Preacher cherishes.

Well, this Sunday he went in and found the almost finished hole concealed with bricks pulled from the floor and the pulpit. He was tempted to finish it and go through, but he really is trying to be good. He knocked on the door and showed the guard the hole and told them his plan.

During the service, many people came forward for a blessing. Preacher says it ain't his blessing but God's. And among all the movement he saw four men slip in back of the altar. He knew what they were doing, but just kept doing what he was doing and then started preaching. On the other side of the hole, instead of finding freedom, the escaping inmates found a line of guards with rifles pointed at them. The first two raised their hands in submission, but the last two crawled back through the hole only to be met by an empty chapel and Preacher, hands on his hips, shaking his head.

Furious that he had destroyed their escape plan, they attacked him with fists and shivs and tried to use him as a hostage to gain their freedom. Even beat up and bleeding, Preacher is a fighter. When the man holding a shiv to his neck walked out into the center courtyard of the prison, Preacher threw his head back hard and into the man's jaw. Broke it.

All four prisoners were caught and flogged. Preacher was beat up pretty bad and his arm had a bad cut. But that wasn't the worst of it. The other prisoners labeled him a snitch. And there ain't much worse than a prison snitch. He was beaten up worse when three other prisoners jumped him in the exercise yard.

As bad as he was hurt, he insisted on preaching the next Sunday. Most of the prisoners still came because it was a chance to be out of their cell, not to hear the snitch. Preacher chose the gospel passage where Jesus was upset with the money changers and others doing business in the synagogue and overturned their tables and said his house of prayer had become a den of robbers. After reading the passage, Preacher limped to stand where everyone could see him. "Like Jesus said, this is a house of prayer, even if many of us are robbers. I'll do anything I need to do to make sure it stays that way. No commandments are going to be broken in this building, if I can help it." And then he collapsed. He had been bleeding inside from the last beating. He had been in the infirmary for two weeks when the warden wrote the letter. The doctor said he should recover, but the warden said they used all the financial allotment for the doctor for two months and he's refusing to come back until there's money to pay him. He's requesting a hundred dollars.

I telegraphed a bank in Yuma where I had opened an account when the Kid was in prison. I'd been afraid something like this might happen to him, but I'd forgotten about it. Now I had them deliver two hundred dollars to the warden of the Yuma prison to be used to pay for medical care for Josiah Jewell.

The next day, by return telegram, the warden thanked me and assured me the doctor would resume treating convict Jewell. But due to his injuries, the next visiting day for the prisoner was canceled.

I wrote the Kid a letter about Preacher and how proud I am of him. And his pact is helping me. The Kid wrote back that he had taken his kids to church because Chrissy can't. He didn't say if he got anything out of it but at least he's trying to keep our pact.

HEYES

Even though Clem wanted to talk, we couldn't stay too late. Sam takes his test at eight am tomorrow. I invited her to Phoenix, and she suggested me and the Kid come by her house sometime. She's never been around a houseful of kids. It was raining the next morning, but Mr. Kolmand showed up with a covered buggy to take Sam to his test. I must say, dressed in his new suit, my stepson bears little resemblance to the boy that tried to steal my wallet the day I met him. Clem couldn't come back today so I have the next five or six hours to spend alone in Denver. Tonight Mr. Kormand has a celebratory dinner planned for Sam, but until then I'm on my own.

I hadn't thought about this part. I don't know what to do. I'm nervous around strangers, I have no control over them and there are a lot of people walking around Denver on a Saturday. This is shopping day for most families and every business is busy. I saw a bookstore close to the hotel and went there…but all I wanted to do was hide among the shelves of books. Books can't hurt people and they don't judge either. So, I bought some new books for myself and any children's picture book that caught my eye. But then I had to ask at the front desk for books that Michael and Martha might enjoy. I waited in line patiently with my books, but the clerk seemed annoyed that I asked a question. He demanded I pay for my books since I had stood in the checkout line and pointed out a helpdesk for questions. Nervous, my hands started shaking. I took out my wallet and paid the man. I watched him wrap my books, anxiously hoping I wouldn't have to talk. My words were gone. The clerk handed me the package, but not my change.

I held out my hand to him. I may not have my words, but I have my outlaw leader expression. He took one look in my eyes.

"Here's your change, sir. Enjoy your books," he said quickly. "Would you like me to walk you to the question desk?" I could see that I had made the clerk as nervous as he made me.

I shook my head, took my package and left. The rain was harder now than when Sam left. I walked quickly, with my head down to the hotel…and spent the afternoon in our room, reading and thinking. Finally, I realized this is what happens to the Kid. Just when he thinks he has people's respect, something happens, like the banker's wife and stepsons, and he feels he failed.

Well, that's not going to happen to me. I found my hat. Asked the hotel desk clerk if they had an extra umbrella and went back to the bookstore. I lost some of my resolve when I realized it was more crowded than ever as many had taken refuge from the storm in here. But I strode to the question desk and waited my turn. The clerk who had helped me check out earlier hurried over. My heart beat faster. He's in charge here and I'm nervous around authority figures. I tried to think if I did something wrong before. Maybe he was mad because I wanted my change.

"Mr. Heyes, so glad you came back. What can I help you with?" The clerk was extremely courteous…and he knew my name.

"You know me?" I asked, hoping he was not another missing memory.

"I know of you, sir. My mother spoke of being on a train that you and Kid Curry robbed. She cut your picture out of the newspaper and never stopped telling people that you both were handsome and polite. She remembers the Kid's eyes are the color of a clear blue sky. "It would be a pleasure to help you today and mother will be very excited you shopped in our store."

"Please suggest some newer books for eight year olds that are very good readers…and perhaps you might have something I could gift to a very special boy graduating soon."

"The eight year old, boy or girl?" the clerk.

"Twins. One of each."

"Yours?"

I smiled. "No, they're the Kid's."

"Oh mother will be so happy to hear this. RIght this way."

JED 'KID' CURRY

I thought about Sam changin' his name to Curry. Made me feel like I've done somethin' to be proud of. I've disgraced that name, but maybe he and my kids will make somethin' to be proud of out of it.

The day after Heyes left for Denver with Sam was Saturday and it rained…hard and sudden like. When we opened the blacksmith shop in the mornin', the sun was shinin' and there weren't many clouds. We had two horses to shoe, two hinges to repair, and a stew pot to patch. With Rocky takin' care of the horses, that left a light day for me.

I finished the repairs quickly and sat down at my worktable to design the brass back plate and knob for Jeff's front door…well, actually for his wife. This is work I enjoy. I leaned back to stretch my back and boom the skies opened and heavy rain fell until Curry Road was runnin' with mud.

The rain here can stop as suddenly as it started, but this time it didn't let up. "Rocky, you finished shoein' those two horses?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Curry."

"Then take them up to our stables…and dry them off when you get them there. No need to come back here after."

"Yes, Mr. Curry."

I started to bring down the sides of the shop. The fire in the forge was out so I brought down all the sides and went into the back room. Thinkin' I might wait until the rain let up, I sat down at the table in the back room and worked on the design. But the rain kept comin' and the wind joined it. So, I locked the back door and headed up to the house, wishin' I'd worn my sherpa coat this mornin'. The flowin' mud was ankle deep now and I struggled to stay on my feet. This doesn't happen in normal rain, but this rain kept comin', driven by a strong wind. I went to the stable first. Rocky was finishin' with the two horses. Arnie and Juan had all the others in and comfortable.

"Let's go on in. Hopin' Auntie has somethin' hot to drink ready," I said.

"Going home to be with Hortencia," Juan said, pullin' his jacket collar up against the rain. At least he'd had the sense to wear one this mornin'.

So, me and Rocky and Arnie went in the back kitchen door, and I was met with a familiar sound that froze my heart... Chrissy screamin' in labor.