Winter's Refuge
Chapter One Hundred Eighty
HEYES
The morning after the party, the sounds of the house were back to normal. I'd gotten up twice last night and made sure every door and window was locked. Mikey, Wayne, and Michael begged to spend the night together 'camping' in the living room, and that meant that Mikey's puppy spent it with them. Steven Rocke had agreed to supervise them. At the last minute, Miss Beverly allowed Junior to join them. No amount of kid's begging could get Aiden to allow Ajay to stay and he left pouting in tears. Me and Mike Loveland taught them a simple matching card game that they played late into the night. We left a lamp on the kitchen table, so they didn't sleep in the dark. I had to step carefully around the sleeping boys when I checked that the house was secure.
Martha, Joy, and Ruth Ann were spending the night with Stephanie at Auntie's house. I checked that her front and back door were locked before I retired for the night. It had been a long, stressful day, but sleep wouldn't come. I felt Angie's hands massaging the tightness in my shoulders and rolled over to face her. She looked concerned.
"I can feel the tension in your shoulders," she told me. "Did you see what happened in the bank?"
"I was the one that used my lock picks to get us inside, so yeah, I saw everything," I answered.
She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. "Did Jed kill Fuller in that gunfight?"
"Yes," I answered and kissed her lips that were so close to mine.
"And you watched it?" she said as she tenderly stroked my face. Her eyes were searching for something in mine. I knew what she was looking for.
"Yes, I watched it. I stood to the side but where the Kid could see me to support him. I've watched him in more gunfights than I can remember…and probably some I can't. I'm fine. And the Kid is fine, too. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow." With that, I took her in my arms and lost myself in our union. I slept soundly for a few hours afterwards. And that's far longer than I usually sleep at a time.
I was awake when Auntie opened the back door, and I could hear Stephanie shhh the little girls who were giggling over something. I stayed in bed and put my arm over my sleeping wife. How was I ever lucky enough to marry her, damaged as I am? I smiled to myself. I'm thinking she's one of those blessings Preacher talks about.
LOM
I was talked into letting Wayne 'camp' in the living room last night like a big boy while I stayed in one of the guest rooms. He's not even three yet. I worried he was too young. I couldn't sleep and quietly went out there just before midnight, sure I would see him and the older boys still awake. But I didn't. They were all asleep on the floor. I squinted in the dim light until I saw Wayne sharing a pillow with Mikey Loveland, both fast asleep and looking angelic. I felt my son's diaper. It was wet. Picking him up, I took him to my room, changed the diaper. He barely woke up. When I was finished, I laid him gently back in place by Mikey.
JED 'KID' CURRY
In the middle of the night, I woke up in pain. Chrissy gave me a glass of water with the bitter pain medicine but, unlike Aiden, she added honey. And I slept soundly in her arms with no dreams, at least none that I can remember. Chrissy was gone and the sun was up when I woke again…and panic filled me. I hadn't gotten up to practice shootin'. Ernesto Fermotti was fast, and I was only a little faster, and luckier. I've always been seconds faster than my opponents. I need to be again.
Tryin' to sit up, my thigh screamed in pain at me. I forced myself to hang my legs over the side of my bed. I took deep breaths until I got the pain under control. As I put my good leg on the ground and started to test my weight on the other, Chrissy stormed into the room, carryin' a cryin' Catherine.
"Jed Curry, get back into that bed now!" she demanded, as she walked to the changin' table with our daughter and changed her diaper.
"I'm better. I'm sure there's a lot of things to do to restore order after that party," I told her.
When she's angry, her green eyes flash darker, and now they are focused on me. "Good doctor tell you stay in bed. Use chamber pot. Do not walk on leg until he says so. GET IN THAT BED!"
"Yes, ma'am," I said quickly. I needed my hand to pull my sore leg back onto the bed.
"Good," she said, firmly handin' me Catherine and a bottle. "Feed our last baby."
HEYES
The Kid was slightly drowsy from the pain medicine when I visited him the next morning. I had strict instructions from Chrissy not to stay too long…but the Kid had different ideas.
"Heyes, I need to talk to someone and you're the only one who's goin' to understand," he started.
Sitting in the chair next to his bed, I leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. "About Fuller?" His nod told me I had guessed correctly. I was expecting that we'd have this conversation. That he brought it up told me how much it was bothering him.
"Even with all my practice, I was just barely faster," he started. Looking into his eyes, for the first time in my life, I saw him doubt his skill with a gun. "I need to practice every day. It's the only way to keep my speed. But I been thinkin' about it. Gunmen get slower as they get older."
I almost said what's our deal about who does the thinking but that had changed since we went to prison. "You were faster than Fuller," I reminded him. "Are you really slower or was he just the fastest you've faced?"
Thinking, he closed his eyes and leaned back on his pillows. Had the medicine forced him into sleep? No, those clear blue eyes opened and found mine. "Maybe both."
I nodded. "Then you need to keep practicing and let's figure out ways you can be faster and smarter than your opponents."
"Thinkin' would break my concentration," he answered doubtfully.
"It might but maybe we make it part of that concentration," I told him.
He closed his time again and this time that sleep did take him but not before he mumbled, "Thinkin' that's a good idea."
ASJ*ASJ
The Kid only lasted staying confined to his bed for three days. On the fourth morning, I heard the distinctive bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang of him working on his shooting and walked down to join him.
"Heyes, I can feel you standin' back there watchin' me," the Kid said, without turning around.
"Just watching like I used to," I answered.
Turning, he flashed me his wide sincere smile. "Glad to have you there supportin' me. Just finishin' up. Want to talk to you about this meetin'," he said, as he holstered his gun and limped to the nearby tree where he'd left his cane. And I know how much he hates using that cane. Makes him feel weak.
"What about the meeting?" I asked. I expected to have this talk. The meeting this afternoon is the Kid's first as president of the Town Council.
"Well, what do I say?" he asked. "You should be the one leadin' the meetin'."
"Did you look at the agenda I gave you?" I asked. I always sit away from the main table and take notes. I know all the men of the council. Some of them I consider friends, but I don't want to be the center of attention. I know that sounds funny from the leader of the Devil's Hole Gang. But I prefer the Kid takes that role…and I'll always be there to back up my partner.
"Yeah, I just read it out loud?" he asked.
"Let's talk about them before we ride into town. Come up with your position on each one and maybe you can steer the discussions your way," I explained.
"Our position, partner," he corrected me. "Heyes, I still think I ain't the person for this job."
"Kid, believe me, you are the best person for this job that Three Birds has ever had."
"Well, with you behind me, I guess I'll be fine," he said. "Let's get back to the house. I can smell the bacon Auntie's cookin' all the way down here."
"Auntie's not making breakfast; William Knight is cooking again. He's testing some new recipes for his restaurants out on us and Auntie is delighted to get to sleep late. Enjoy it now, he's leaving tomorrow." I smiled as the Kid walked faster towards the new breakfast smells wafting down from our house.
"He'll be the last of the party guests to leave. Kinda glad it will just be back to us," the Kid answered.
JED 'KID' CURRY
Before we left for Three Birds, we sat in Heyes' tiny office and I asked him, "Why should I already have an opinion on what we are goin' to discuss before we discuss it?"
"It lets us talk them out first and you'll see. Some strong personalities on the council. Think about all the angles. Like the first item here. "Should the Town Council pay for adding an indoor water closet to the new school building?" Heyes asked.
"Would be nice for the kids," I answered. "That's a yes, right?"
"Well, it could be, but there's other things to consider that members might bring up," Heyes returned.
"Seems pretty straightforward to me. An indoor water closet would be nice for the kids," I repeated.
"But how much will it cost? Palmer Robinson will always ask that before arguing that it's too expensive," Heyes told me.
"Do you know how much it will cost?" I asked.
"Did you read my notes?" he asked.
Sheepishly, I looked at the accompanyin' pages. "Didn't have time." The new schoolhouse was finished only three months ago where the old one stood. It was bigger than the one that had been destroyed, with one very large classroom that could be divided into two, if the town's population continued to grow. A new teacher's apartment was attached to the back. But since Miss Duhamel was now Mrs. Kolmand and the mother of a six-month-old, it was not used. She was back teachin' our kids again. Our town lawyer, Charles Kolmand, had a home built for them on the Main Road toward Phoenix. The temporary school we'd all helped to fix up in the old saloon, now stood empty.
"So, the first number is if we hire a contractor to build the indoor water closet and the second number is if we build it with volunteer labor?" That brought up another thought. "How long do you estimate it would take for each?"
Heyes smiled. He knew I was understandin' why we needed to talk things over first. "Half a day for the contractor. Two Saturdays for volunteers," he answered. "What do you think?"
I thought about it for a few minutes considerin' all the facts. "Think we should hire the contractor to design it and get us started and have him work with the volunteers to build it. How much would that cost? But I thought of something else," I said. Really, I was thinkin' aloud now and glad I was here at home at in Heyes' small office rather than tryin' to process all of this in the meetin'. .
"Very good, Kid, a compromise. What else did you think of?" Heyes answered with a grin.
"Well, the Kolmands ain't usin' the teacher's quarters but someone might in the future. Shouldn't we add a water closet there, too?" I asked.
Heyes grin turned into a smile. "That's a good question. Let's talk it through."
It took me and Heyes almost two hours to talk about all the items on the agenda. But it was the last one that concerns me. "Merge the town councils of Mallard Springs and Three Birds with Jed Curry as the president of both. Proposed by Mallard Springs Town Council."
"Heyes, I don't like that one. Don't want to have to think about two cities. You didn't write no notes on that one." I knew I sounded like I was complainin' but since it was only Heyes, I didn't care."
He was silent for a minute then stood up and paced. I knew he was hatchin' a plan;s details like he did at Devil's Hole. "Well, there are some good things that could come out of it, like building a good road that don't flood between the two cities. They already come to Sunday services here in our church with Father Patrick and use Mr. Kolmand as their lawyer. A few new farms have been built between here and there. What city do they belong to?" I let Heyes keep talkin', listin' all the reasons this might be a good idea, but I know him. There was gonna be a 'but', probably a 'but' big enough to stop this idea. "But there's one thing we got that Mallard Springs don't," Heyes finished.
"What's that?" I asked, but I think I know. "Me and you took some men over there to help after the river flooded."
"Our Town Council has money to spend, and Mallard Springs has to ask its citizens for money every time they want something. Two years later that reward money from catching Skylar Shaw and his men has grown with the interest we get from the bank. We've spent a lot of it, but Mr. Robinson manages it well. This town works together, and a lot of volunteer labor rebuilt this town."
"And Mallard Springs knows we have that money," I answered. It wasn't a question, just a realization.
Heyes grinned and sat down. "We could table it for future discussion and maybe ask Mr. Kolmand to write a codicil to any agreement combining the two towns that says the proceeds from the reward money are required by law to be spent in Three Birds?"
"Heyes, you're a genius," I told him. "We'd better be leavin' for town. I want to talk over a couple of these things with Mayor Jeff Birde beforehand, so we are all thinkin' the same way."
ASJ*ASJ
Me and Heyes stopped at the newly enlarged telegraph and post office. It now included livin' quarters at the back. Our now official Postmaster, Arnie Weber, handed us a stack of letters and a telegram. He'd come a long way since he'd been a hostage rescued from Mean Gene Kindberg's Devil's Hole. His older brother, Jerry, had been the telegraph operator in Brown River that passed Mean Gene confidential information that helped him choose robbery targets that were cash rich. He did it to keep Arnie alive.
"Mr. Heyes, Mr. Curry, got some news to tell you," Arnie said, comin' around from behind the counter. "I asked Mr. Pokora for Miss Eleanor's hand, and he gave us his blessing. We're getting married ten weeks from yesterday and we'd like you and all your families to come." He said it fast, in one breath as if in a hurry to get it out and not sure what our response would be.
"Congratulations, Arnie!" I said, shakin' his hand. "Eleanor's his oldest, right?"
"Thanks, Mr. Curry, yes, she is. Couldn't believe when she said yes," he answered, always careful not to call me sir.
"We'd be honored to come," Heyes said with a grin. "And I know all the ladies at Phoenix just love going to weddings."