A nightmare from the past (Editing)

Chapter 8

The Whitey Bunch were all too familiar to Heyes and Curry, they had crossed their path more than one time before, during their days as outlaws. And the realization that it was James Canton who had inflicted those wounds on Chyenne, made Heyes grit his teeth, not as much as to the fact that the act had been dispecable, but more to the insight that James was in fact dead, and he could not take out his anger  on the fella ! The bittersweet irony about the whole thing though, was, that it was this delicat, beautiful woman that had sent him on his journey..to hell, probably, and not a sheriff with a big, tin star on his chest, nor a malicious outlaw with a sixshooter on his hip.

He graced Millie with an assuring smile and stood up, pushing his chair aside.

"Let me and Thaddeus take care of this. We'll hide Chyenne " he glanced with concern at the bedroom door, "No further harm will come to her "

Millie looked at Curry for more confirmation, he gave it to her, nodding in agreement to what Heyes had just said.

"That's right ma'am " he spoke silently, glaring at Heyes,"none of them boys will get to her "

Millie tightened her jaw, trying hard to calm down. The minute she had heard about Canton and seen him, she immediately had thought of Chyenne, knowing the connection. The beaten up woman that she, and her husband, had taken care of the day before...with wounds deep enough to have been done by a knife, the actual knife she had seen buried in James Canton's chest.

She somehow felt a special bond to the woman...

As they watched the older woman fret over the possibility of outlaws coming to seek revenge, they felt it safe to spill some of their knowledge of the Whitey Bunch , James and the boys were after all pretty notorious outlaws, and well known around these parts, with rewards on their heads summing up to around 5,000 $...together!

"Well " Heyes started, "right about now, if not earlier, the gang must know something went wrong for James "

Millie sat back more comfortable in the chair and diverted her whole attention on Heyes.

Since they had appeared in Rocky creek, she had developed a special fondness for both of the boys, but her heart leaned a little more to the fair haired man...something about him, made her wanna reach out and hug him, mother him, fuss over him.

She considered them both the sons she never had.

"Yeah "Curry murmured, " and that bunch has a nasty reputation "

He glanced over at Millie, her worry for the woman in the next room was palpable.

"They do ?" her voice low, trembling, "how'd you know ?"

Heyes walked up behind her and rested his hands calmly on her shoulders.

"It's common knowledge, Millie. Ask anyone around here. I guess Old Jenkins can tell you some stories about them!" he began, "but off course James was the worst. Now when he's gone, who knows "

Millie wasn't all that convinced.

"But she's a woman and they're a whole gang...of men !"

Thinking about that, made Heyes' eyes sparkle like dark diamonds. He suddenly had a whole new, different kind of respect for Chyenne. Alone she had fought off James Canton AND killed him, but as she had put it, she had simply given his knife back. That made him smile.

"Naaa, don't ya worry Millie, me and Thaddeus will take care of her " he assured her, knowing when Chyenne was well enough, she would be able to hold her own.

Letting his words calm her down a bit, Millie stood up, straightening her skirt out a little.

"Is she awake ? " her concern was admirable.