During the days that had passed, Chyenne had gotten her bindings taken off, and her bruises and swellings had almost all disappeared and the stiches were gone. Her beautiful face just showed a hint of a faded bruise an inch below her left eye. She had been gifted with a small hand mirror from Millie,so she could check her healing without having to get out of bed. That had made her smile a little, the older womans motherly tending on her and fussing about, sometimes got a little out of hand. She was fully capable of getting out of bed on her own now, and she did it at any opportunity she got.
One thing she could not do however, was figure Hannibal Heyes out.
The Kid was easier, he was kind and considerate and gentle towards her, becoming her friend, again. She could talk to him for hours, and he would let her.
Hannibal was different. One moment he was kind and gentle, the next he kept his distance. Why ? And then there was that something, in his way of looking at her sometimes, warmth, want, desire ? Or maybe she just saw what she wanted to see, what she longed for herself. What she wanted, from this man that had become to mean so much for her.
She was alone in the kitchen, finishing the umpteenth cup of coffee, and it wasn't even dark outside yet. Stretching out her body, she felt better than ever. Even the deep wound on her hip was just a distant memory to her now. Looking down on herself as she sat by the table, made her smile a little.
Millie, god bless her, had bought her a dress in town yesterday, and it seemed like it was made just for her. Even though she was more comfortable in mens clothes, she had accepted as she had nothing else to wear. Nothing at all. She had put it on right after Heyes and Curry had left the house, to work outside. It hugged her perfectly in just the right places, and the color was right too, a bright yellow tone, made her dark hair look almost black. Chyenne liked it in fact, and even she could figure out that she looked quite alright in it. She had decided to surprise the boys, showing them the outfit.
She leaned over the table, glancing outside. Spotting Heyes, her heart rate speeded up a notch.
With dismay she had during these past few days realized where her feelings were heading, she actually knew now what they meant, and she was deeply troubled by it. She wasn't used to have those kind of feelings. She had never had them, in fact, the day she realized she had any feelings what so ever, was the day a few months ago when she met Hannibal Heyes.
Easing her hand down the fabric of the dress, she was amazed that it was so soft, Millie had really outdone herself this time. Chyenne had no idea why the older woman cared for her or fussed over her, she hadn't done anything that deserved such treatment, but she was utterly grateful.
She stood up, and the dress billowed down her legs like a ray of sunshine. She felt pretty, the dress made her feel that way, but she had no idea if that actually was the case. She had no desire to look at herself in the mirror. The last times, she had done that, with the help of Millie, she had been horrified. So that little hand mirror was still unused.
She looked out, seeing both of them as they were heading inside the barn. Purposeful she went out from the house, walking towards the barn and entered through the big doors.
Kid put down the hammer and dried his forehead with his bandana. This day, they have had their fair share of hard work. He glanced over at Heyes, finding himself at ease over the fact that he looked as worn out as he was.
"You figure Millie's gonna come by tonite' ?" he asked as he started to roll up his sleeves, his back at Heyes.
As Heyes was facing inwards, he never saw Chyenne entering the barn and stop as she saw them.
"You never know with her. She's spoiling Chyenne rotten, that's for sure," he also took a short pause to wipe his forehead with a cloth, " Like that dress she bought her yesterday, huh ! Nice gesture, really, but what was the point of doing that ?"he said, and was about to continue.
Curry turned around to face Heyes, but saw something else instead. His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide in complete surprise.
"I think I have a pretty good idea " he interrupted and gasped, he pointed for Heyes to turn around.
He did so.
As his eyes took in the sight of Chyenne, they widened and he swallowed down a huge lump in his troath. The little light that shimmered through the partly opened door, illuminated her from behind, making her look like an angel.
She smiled an unsure smile, searching for their approval.
"Well "she said humbly and in a soft voice, "Does it look okay ? " The words from Heyes had not passed by unnoticed.
"WHOA !" Curry said and broke out in a pleased grin, his blue eyes sparkled as he passed Heyes and walked over to her, "You are definately a sight for sore eyes !"
Heyes just stood there, unable to move, watching her.
Chyenne giggled a little as Curry took hold of her, studying her up and down.
"So it's okay then ?" she pondered.
Curry chuckled loudly at her.
"You are absolutely beautiful "he turned to face Heyes, "Right, Heyes ?"
Heyes felt his silver tongue shrink to the size of a pee as he struggled to form a sentence with actual words.
"I..you...think..I mean " he started, then shook his head as he heard the sound of it and the lack of words in it.
Curry frowned at him, mouthing to him to get on with it.
Heyes steeled himself, feeling deeply troubled by his own inability to act normal in front of this woman.
"You look lovely " he said short in a hoarse voice as his eyes still was glued to her.
Now she got this uncertain again. She couldn't tell if he actually like it or not. His eyes said one thing, or at least that was what she thought they did, and his words were soo different. Not at all what she had expected.
"Now that's a man with an epic vocabulary " Curry grinned maliciously at Heyes, getting hot stares back. He released Chyenne and moved way over to the stalls as in a diversion for Heyes. "I'll tend to the horses " he told them.
Her eyes followed Curry as he left them alone, then she turned her eyes to Heyes. She saw his tense posture and his eyes were dark and dangerous. As she knew who he was, she could see the outlaw leader in him. But she also saw something else, a sinfully handsome man, with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and a smile that was to die for. She knew she was falling for him, and she was falling hard. In her own mind she knew it was ridiculous to have the feelings she had, or even plain stupid. She had never thought of herself as beautiful or good looking, not even okay looking had come to mind for her when it came to her own looks. To be fair, she knew most men, and boys, had sort of discovered her as her body had filled out in certain places, but she never thought it had anything to do with her looks.
"Lovely ? " she swallowed and gave him a scowl, "Really ?" she touched her long, dark hair and looked down, the ironic tone of her voice quite palpable.
Heyes made a serious attempt to ignore the fact that he was totaly enamored by the vision in front of him, but he failed. His pulse quickened and he took a step forward, coming up close with her.
She smelled good, her hair flowing freely down her back and the new dress was fitting her almost too perfect. His eyes had a hard time taking in all of it as they now were standing pretty close, and he had a hard time controlling his breathing .
He was not oblivious to the irony in her reply and he, without knowing what he actually did, reached out and took hold of her, putting his hand on her waist. Chyenne felt a shiver run through her body, the feeling was now starting to get familiar, as she had felt it before. Now it was almost impossible to breathe.
"Really ! " he mumbled, adding,"And very much so..."
His other hand gently took hold of her chin and unconsuiously he moved closer, and so did she, feeling his breath on her skin.
Suddenly she froze, shying away backwards from him, almost stumbling on the dress.
"No, don't..." she whispered in a trembling voice, seeing his dark eyes narrowing.
Oh god, how could she even let this happen ? He would loath her later on, if she would let him touch her. She had been soiled...and even more damaged now than ever before.
Turning on her heel, she grabbed the fabric of the dress, lifting it up a bit, then she hurried out the barn door and over in to the house.
Curry stepped forward from the stall, his brows raised high.
"What happened ? " he stopped in front of Heyes, looking just slightly accusing at him.
"WHAT HAPPENED ? " Heyes growled and pursed his mouth looking at Curry, "Yeah ! I'd like to know that myself ! "
Curry frowned and put down a shovel he'd been holding. Leaning it towards the nearby wall, he then took a stance as he looked back again at Heyes.
"How should I know ?" he said, trying to not sound annoyed.
Heyes felt like he was gonna explode, he was sure he was about to have a temper tantrum. He just shook his head and waved Curry off as he started to walk out from the barn.
Curry followed.
"What's with you, Heyes ?" he hissed, grabbing him by his arm, stopping him."Talk to me ! Chyenne ?"
Heyes stopped abruptly and glared at Curry, with eyes darker than the night.
"She just left " he started, his voice low, "I was about to kiss her...and she just left !"
Curry leaned his head to the side, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Soo, maybe she want you to follow " he said smugly, nodding towards the boardinghouse."There might be a hint in there somewhere, ya' know !"
Heyes shook his head distressed.
"Noo " then he said a thing he never thought he would say, "She seems to want your company more than mine "
Curry's jaw dropped and his mouth flung open as he heard his partner say those words. Then it really sunk in as he also saw the rigid look on Heyes' face.
Heyes was jealous, he was REALLY jealous.
Biting his teeth together as hard as he could, as to not burst out laughing, Curry had to turn away for a brief moment to collect himself. He wondered if he should make his partner aware of this, or if he should have some fun with it for a while...and then tell him about it ?
He really wanted to have some fun with it, but could he really do that to his partner ?
Curry tried his best to compose himself and to gather some strenght as to not cave in and reveal to his partner that he in fact found this pretty amusing. Hannibal Heyes jealous !
"Well, okay then, I think I'll go and keep her company for a spell " he said, his voice steady as he clapped his partner on his arm.
The reaction he got from Heyes he was not at all what he had expected.
"Do that " he murmured, looking away back at the barn, not wanting to show Curry that his inside was raging with jealosy, "I'll join you later "
Curry raised his brows in surprise and he scratched his hair as he watched Heyes turn and walk back into the barn. This was even more serious than he had thought. The great Hannibal Heyes was, even though it would take forever for him to realize it, so deeply and madly in love, he was a total goner.
Chyenne sat at the bed, braiding her hair. The encounter with Heyes had left her numb, and she seriously considered leaving, in fact she had too. The feelings he made her feel, she feared most of all. As she heard the door to the house open, she stiffened and sat up straight in the bed. The door between the kitchen and the bedchamber were still closed, and she hoped to god it would remain so.
Off course it opened right away. Curry peered into the room. As his eyes met hers he smiled and took a step inside.
When seeing the look on her face, he hurried to sit down by her side. Safely he put his arm round her shoulder, and gave her arm a light squeez.
"You really should have your hair loose "he started and touched her braid with his hand, "Don't hide it away like this "
Chyenne smiled, but continued with the braid until it was all done, then she tied a blue ribbon in it.
"See...goes with your eyes Kid " she said with a sad smile, then she straightened herself, "Now if you please, I have to take this off "
She pointed down on her dress.
"Why the hell that ?" Curry blurted out and gave her a frown. He couldn't for his life figure out why. She looked absolutely lovely in it.
"I'll tell Millie it didn't fit, then she'll have to return it " she gestured for him to leave.
"Didn't fit ?" he pretended to not notice her gesture, "What on earth are you talking about ? You look stunning !"
She laid her head to the side and gave him a shy glance.
"Thank you Kid , that's really sweet of you." she said gratefully, "But it has to go. I can't accept it."
He was about to disagree with her, but the look on her face made him choose not to.
"Millie has been more than kind and generous towards me, giving me things and clothes that I do not deserv. And you, and Heyes, has been caring and kind enough to let me sleep in a bed, Heyes' bed," she didn't turn her eyes away from his, "when it should be me sleeping on the floor !"
She continued, and Curry saw fit to just listen and hear her out.
"It's bad enough as it is Kid, I'm just a burden to you and Heyes."she paused and took a deep breath, "I care for you both...a great deal, that's why I have to leave "
This wasn't going the way Curry had expected. He stood up and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Leave, huh ?" he waited for her reply, but she didn't say anything, just nodded." We'll see about that !"
His icy blue eyes gave her a judgeing look before he turned to leave the room.