Equally satisfied after spending some time with Lori, Curry strolled back home in the darkness of the night. But still his thoughts were somewhere else. He couldn't take his mind off Chyenne, although he knew she prefered Heyes, he couldn't help thinking about her.
And Heyes, well knowing him, made Curry absolutely positive, there had been some romantic activitys already.....in fact he himself had told him to persue the issue.........
Curry chuckled as he walked along. Heyes was a total goner.
Suddenly he heard some muffled sounds coming from an alleyway, and he quickly hid in the shadows of the adjacent house.
"I tell ya', there was something about that guy " a gruff voice stated.
"Don't matter, Rex told us to locate the woman, not some cheap mediocrity of a cowboy.."
Curry flinched as he hid in the shadows, Whitey Bunch boys, he figured.
"Did you see any in there?" the squeak voice said.
"You oaf! Ya' really think a woman like her is around saloons?" gruffy said.
Curry heard what sounded like a slap on the head and then an 'ouch', then footsteps leaving in the other direction.
Boy, those guy's weren't the sharpest tools in the box. He peaked around the corner, just to make sure they were all gone. He wondered just if that Bunch ever had any success in holding up stages or robbing banks. Their appearence made it pretty obvious that they weren't too bright, well they might have had some luck in it, as there was a reward out on them. Together they were worth quite a bit.
He stepped out from the shadows and started walking back home to the boardinghouse, all the time pondering just how to get these two clowns to leave before spotting Chyenne, and recognizing him and Heyes in the process.
As he entered the boardinghouse, he saw a sight he never thought he would see. The light was dim, just a small candle had been lit on the table in the kitchen, and in the far corner in the old rockingchair, sat Heyes and Chyenne. She sat in his lap, all cuttled up with her arms around him and with his arms around her, sleeping.
Curry smiled as he removed his hat and put it on the table. He gave a knowing glance to his partner, and tiptoed over to them.
"You guys okay? " he murmured and gave a nod towards Chyenne.
The glare he got from Heyes told him all he wanted to know, and he retreated slowly to the table, grinning wryly. He took his cup and checked the coffee pot, it was still hot! He poured himself a generous amount of the black liquid. Bless Chyenne, he was about to take a sip as a thought occured to him, it could have been Heyes cooking the coffee, he looked at Heyes.
Heyes closed his eyes, sighing. Then as he opened them again he nodded.
"I made it okay!" he whispered as he held Chyenne close to him, "Ain't nothing wrong with it!"
Curry raised his brow at him, holding the cup up almost examining it, then he lowered it and, slowly,deliberatelly slowly, he took a sip from it. Trying to compose himself and swallow the coffee, he knew that Heyes was now about to explode in the rockingchair. He stole a look in his direction.
He was right.
Heyes was seething. But he kept his calm.
"Just give it a rest will ya'? " he asked as he breathed through his nose, his dark eyes pinning his partner.
Curry chuckled.
"Okay"
He sat down and observed his partner holding Chyenne over in the rockingchair.
A sight he never thought he would see, but not at all an unpleasant one. He liked the way Heyes looked at her, for the first time in his life he saw love in Heyes' eyes, the love for a woman. And Curry liked it. Heyes deserved it. Heyes needed it.
And gosh darned it, even the coffee tasted good!
When Curry almost had finished his cup, he saw Heyes move a little, trying to get a better grip around Chyenne and then move to stand up.
Curry rose to his feet in an instant and hurried over to him, helping him making the adjustment that was needed, and not to wake her up.
Heyes mouthed a thank you to Curry, and then he carried her into the bedchamber, putting her down gently on his own bed, tucking her in.
When he got back into the kitchen; Curry was seated yet again down by the table.
Heyes took a cup and poured some coffee in it, then he sat himself down next to Curry.
He took a sip, then he looked at his partner from behind the cup.
"She's determined to leave tomorrow " his voice was low.
Curry nodded sympathetically. He could detect layers of sadness and hurt in his partners voice.
"I suspected that " he replied.
"She's worried about her folks " Heyes continued, "They must be going through hell all over again, not knowing " his voice trailed off.
Again Curry nodded. Then he sighed, putting his cup to rest on the table.
"We have to get these buffoons to leave somehow "
Heyes leaned his head to the side, a grin almost detectable.
"Buffoons?"
"Yes definitely, buffoons!" Curry also started to grow a smile as he watched his partners face, "They certainly aren't the sharpest tools you know, you'll just need one look and you'll know it."
Heyes grin got wider, and the sly look in his eyes told Curry he had come up with something, some sort of a plan.
"Lack of brain is always good. That is,when it is your opponent who lacks it " Heyes snickered and got up from the table and as usual, started pacing.
Even though Curry wanted his friend to have the luxury of having feelings for a woman, he saw how it also tormented him. He realized Heyes must have taken the deepest fall in history, with Chyenne.
But looking at him now, pacing, pondering. It was like seeing the old Hannibal Heyes, the leader.
Curry observed him, smiling.
"We have to involv Lorne and Millie in this Kid, there is no other way " he turned around facing his friend, " and Chyenne!"
Curry's jaw slacked.
Next morning they all sat around the kitchen table in the boarding house. Heyes, Curry, Chyenne, Lorne and Millie.
Heyes had summoned Lorne and Millie last night, telling them it was of great importence to Chyenne, that they showed up.
This particular morning showed a great promise of a lovely day to come. The earlier threat of a storm coming their way, had fortunately reduced itself into a less breezy wind, and the sun was on a steady climb up in the sky.
The tree just outside the kitchen window staggered from the weight of all the birds up this morning, all with the same goal of catching early worm.
Lorne and Millie sat opposite Heyes and Curry, obviously wanting to know what was going on. Chyenne sat crouched on a chair at one of the ends, haphazardly glancing out the window every now and then. To her own dismay, she realized she gnawed nervously on her own nails. With a resolute gesture, she hid her hands under her legs.
Heyes looked them all over as he took a sip from his cup of morning coffee, almost deliberately delaying the topic he had at hand.
"Lorne, Millie " he started, looking somewhat nervous at them, "I've asked you to come here as a favoure of Chyenne's " he said cautiously.
Lorne wrinkled his forehead and raised his brows in a quizzical grimace, Millie just nodded her head meekly.
"For Chyenne?" Lorne then asked with authority and glanced her way.
Heyes stood up in a flash and stepped behind Chyenne, holding both of her shoulders protectively.
"For Chyenne " he repeated. Squeezing her hand, he gazed upon her with so much love, it could be seen by even Lorne and Millie.
A content smile spread over Millies face, as she was very pleased with what she saw. In fact, that outcome, she had predicted the first day that Chyenne had been brought into the boardinghouse.
A little pride in her female intuition, made her sit up straight and look at them both, smiling even more.
She elbowed her husband in the side and nodded towards the couple at the end.
"For Chyenne and Joshua " she added, "You know as well as I do Lorne, that Canton fella who was discovered by town snitch old Jenkins, he's the one responsible for Chyennes condition.."
Lorne murmured something non coherent, then he looked up at Heyes and Chyenne.
"I know, you told me " he glanced sideways at his wife, "and as I've been told, there is no question who sort of...gave back the knife to Canton, huh?" he looked at Curry, then at Chyenne.
Curry shook his head no.
Chyenne felt like she wanted to shrink where she sat.
Then Curry stood up too, taking over. Heyes smiled satisfied, the feeling of mutual understanding with his partner felt stronger than ever.
"I had the unpleasant experience of meeting two of the Canton gang members over at the saloon last night," Curry said as he strolled over to the stove, getting himself some of Heyes' morning coffee. He noticed both Millie and Lorne gasped a little for air, so just how he knew they were the Canton gang members, he decided to not reveal at the moment, "They are here for one reason, and one reason only. They are looking for Chyenne!"
Millie held her hand up in front of her mouth gasping loudly, and she looked horrified in Chyennes direction. The older woman reached for her hand, grabbing it, squeezing it tightly.
Chyenne looked meekly at her, forcing a smile through her lips, all the time feeling Heyes calming hands on her shoulders.
"Oh dear! but why..what can we do?" Millie tried her best to compose herself and not fire away the multitude of questions she had in store. Lorne just watched, his forehead in deep frown.
Curry took a great gulp from his cup, grimaced and then swallowed it down, glaring persistently at Heyes.
"Apparently one of these half-witted thugs saw when Canton abducted Chyenne. They had staged a hold up, robbing the stagecoach she traveled with " he enlightened them, "now they want to find her!"
Millie's eyes bulged and she stood up, making the chair squeak as it was pushed backwards.
"We can't let that happen " she looked with a mothers love at the beautiful halfbreed, sitting at the end of the table,"She's endured enough as it is, already "
Then she sat back down again, a little ashamed over her non too ladylike reaction the second earlier.
"But why really...why do they want her?" she was curious to know.
Heyes let go of the grip he had on Chyenne's shoulder and slowly started pacing around the table. He had a stern look on his face, as pondering a quandary. Then he stopped and turned to the table.
"If I tell you that " he said adressing Lorne and Millie, "there will be further questions, leading to a subject I rather not go into, but I will, if it'll keep Chy out of harms way "
Lorne raised his brows high and glared at him, then he looked at Chyenne. The way those two looked at each other, there was no question about it. He had seen it on Joshua the day they had carried Chyenne into the boardinghouse. Already at that point, there had been no question to where this would lead, and as an adult and having been married to Millie for what seemed an eternity, he knew just how far those two had taken it. First and foremost he could see it on Chyenne.
Millie grabbed her husbands hand, looking deep in his eyes. "As far as I am concerned you can trust both Lorne and me with whatever it is " she looked back up at Heyes, nodding for him to continue.
Lorne looked sternly at him, not really liking in which direction this was heading.
Heyes started pacing again, glancing over at Curry, getting a somewhat uneasy nod back.
"They want her, because they think she's the one finishing off Canton " he told them.
Chyenne squirmed in her chair. "Well I did, sort of " she admitted with a quiver.
"That's beside the point " Heyes almost yelled to her in frustration, making her quiver all the more, "they wanna take you, make you pay for what you've done, and they won't be gentle. Outlaw honor!"
Lorne straightened himself up, studying both Thaddeus and Joshua intently. He noticed Thaddeus easing his seat a little, getting tense. Joshua had also tensed up as he stood on the floor in front of him. Both men that he had learned to care a great deal about, the two men they had offered accomodations to as they had arrived in their small town, seemed to change in front of his eyes.
"Outlaw honor?" was all he said, looking accusingly at them both.
At once, Chyenne stood up, her chair almost crashing backwards.
"Nooo don't!" she pleaded, looking at Heyes with eyes full of love.
His shoulders sagged as he sat down opposite Lorne. "We have to, Chy. We have to.."
And with a little doubt but with much self-controll, he started to tell Lorne and Millie exactly just how and why they knew about Canton and outlaws.
During his speech he and Curry could see their face's change multiple times into different expressions. Fear, disappointment, worry then total acceptance.
"Soo, you're telling us " it was Millie who got her speech back first, "Your names are NOT Joshua and Thaddeus?"
Both Heyes and Curry nodded in unison, still alert.
"But in fact Heyes and Curry, " Lorne cut in, his voice all grave, "Hannibal Heyes and...Kid Curry?" he shook his head as not wanting to believe what he just had been told. He turned to Chyenne.
"And you knew about this?"
She sat up all stoic. "Yes sir I did and I love them both with all my heart. I would do anything and everything to protect them "
Heyes looked at her as she spoke. His heart was filled with love and pride over this wonderful woman, a woman he did not deserv, but in a moment of rapture had claimed for his own. His dimples showed as their eyes met, telling everyone around just how much and how deeply he did care for her and loved her.
Millie too shook her head. The two boys, men, that she had come to regard almost like her own sons, now sat in front of her, telling her they were two wanted men. Outlaws. She felt a little numb, but gained her composure after having an internal battle with herself.
"Lorne "she eyed her husband strictly, " To me the matter of their names is not important. What's important is the safety of Chyenne here.." she reached out to pat Chyenne on her arm.
"But.." Lorne tried.
"No!" Millie cut him off successfully, her eyes riveted to him.
He grumbled something they couldn't hear and then he looked at Chyenne.
"Okay, then.. just how do you think WE can be of any help to Chyenne?"
Heyes eyes lid up and he grinned broadely."Your medical skills, Lorne "