Chapter Text
"Do you know you’re smilin’?"
Hannibal Heyes slumped casually in the coach, his feet propped on the opposite seat, arms crossed over his chest, hat pulled low over his face. He’d tilted his head back only enough to manage a one-eyed observation of his partner, sitting in a very similar position opposite him. It was nice to have the stage to themselves. There was room to sprawl and, in the July heat, sprawling was a definite plus. When they’d left Silver Lake a few months earlier, it had been snowing. A damn blizzard, in fact. Now, it was the middle of summer and the inside of the coach was oven-ish.
Curry’s hat was angled up as he gazed out the window…smiling. "Prairie dogs," he explained.
Heyes pushed his hat up a wee bit and narrowed his eyes at the Kid. "And these are especially entertaining prairie dogs?"
Curry turned his smile back toward his partner. "Nope. But these particular prairie dogs live about 4 miles west of Silver Lake. And that means we’re only about 5 miles west of…" His expression changed a little, became almost wistful. "Home."
The two men regarded each other thoughtfully.
Heyes uttered a soft, brief laugh. "Been a long time since we could use that word to talk about us, huh?"
"But it feels like that, don’t it? Like home?" There was something in Curry’s voice that begged for confirmation. He wasn’t imagining it, was he? Had they really found a home?
Heyes nodded gently. "Yeah, Kid. It feels like home."
It was, of course, more than the place, more than the town of Silver Lake that made it "home". It was the woman, the wife who waited there. Wife. Another word that still felt alien to Heyes when he used it in connection with his partner. Kid Curry had a wife.
The truth of it was, he’d had a wife for close to two years now. Oh, they hadn’t called her that until a few months back. Before that, she was Kate. She was the Kid’s woman. And there’d been no ceremony to change her status, no standing up before a preacher in front of witnesses, swearing to love and honor and all the rest. In fact, there’d been nothing official at all. But the Kid had grown tired of waiting for an amnesty that might never come, for a time when he could do the honorable thing and marry the woman, swear in his own name before God and the congregation. So there’d been nothing formal, just a decision made in the middle of the night during a blizzard. It wasn’t exactly the way he would have had it, this common law marriage, but it was legal and, for some reason Curry didn’t quite understand, that had become important to him. So he and Kate had decided. Married. They were married.
They’d been through several kinds of hell since they met Kate, all three of them, Heyes included, but none of it had sent her running for the hills. In fact, the more they went through, the more convinced Heyes had become that Kate was cut from the same cloth as him and the Kid. She’d lived a hard life, one that wasn’t bound by rules of propriety or civilization. She’d simply survived, as best she could, however she could, just like Curry and Heyes had. But, being a woman, it was even tougher on her. The west wasn’t kind to women on their own. Life had hardened her and, oddly enough, softened her. She was tough and tender, all wrapped up in a petite package, with eyes that could break your heart and a way with weaponry that could break your bones. And, by God, she was one of ‘em, a partner.
It had been 2 months since Curry had seen her. Heyes and the Kid had taken a job managing a casino at a fancy hotel in Colorado City. The job was supposed to last all summer and Kate had gone with them to spend a month on her first-ever vacation before returning to her position as Silver Lake’s school teacher. She had ended up staying longer than a month. On the outbound journey, a blizzard had stranded them, along with the rest of the stage passengers, for several days. What transpired left Kate beaten to a pulp, one man dead, and others under arrest. Kate had remained in Colorado City until the trial of those arrested. Then the Kid had taken time away from the job and gone with her to Denver where she testified at the trial. After the men’s convictions, she had returned to Silver Lake alone and Curry had returned to Colorado City to finish out the job. They hadn’t expected to see each other again until his employment ended in September so this early return would be a pleasant surprise.
"You think she told everybody?" the Kid asked. "About us being married, I mean."
Heyes considered it for a moment. "No, I think she told Maggie." He uttered a deep chuckle. "And MAGGIE told everybody!"
Curry laughed, too. It was true, he was sure. Maggie Taylor was, in effect, Kate’s big sister, surrogate mother and best female friend, all in one. Maggie and her husband, Will, owned a boarding house where Kate lived, as did Heyes and Curry when they were in Silver Lake. The Taylors and their two adolescent daughters, Molly and Emma, were like family. And, though they had quietly accepted the less than discrete relationship between Kate and the Kid, "marriage", even a common law one, would no doubt make Maggie much more comfortable about the matter. And though she wasn’t especially gossipy, neither man had any doubt that Maggie would have spread the joyful news throughout the community with remarkable speed.
The first buildings of Silver Lake appeared and both men sat up, feeling anxious, ready to be…home. The stage slowed as they neared the depot.
"Where is everybody?" Curry asked, looking out at the town. It was mid-day, mid-week. Usually, the town was pretty busy at this time of day, people bustling about, taking care of errands, working. But they’d passed only a handful of people. Those few waved friendly greetings as soon as they saw who was aboard the stage but their numbers were sparse.
Zeb Bell, the stage driver, hollered a "Whoooooaaaa!" to the team and the coach finally stilled. Even before the wheels had completely stopped, Curry had the door open and was hopping out of the coach. Heyes followed, both of them noting the lack of Silver Lake citizens. Zeb, a small, wiry man who had become a friend during the blizzard-plagued journey in March, secured the reins. Mostly bald, partly toothless, Zeb looked frail and fragile but the truth was he had the energy and agility of a 5-year old. By the time Heyes was out of the coach, Zeb was on top of it, retrieving their bags and tossing them down.
"Head’s up, Jones!"
Curry was grateful for fast reflexes. He glanced up just in time to catch his satchel. "Thanks, Zeb. Where is everybody?"
Zeb tossed Heyes his bag as well and then glanced around from his elevated perch. "Don’t know. Sure do look quiet though, don’t it? Maybe there’s more people sick."
"Sick?" Curry turned a hard look at the man. "People have been sick?"
Zeb shrugged. "Not smallpox or nothing. Some kinda stomach thing, I hear tell. Been going around for awhile."
"You might have mentioned that, Zeb," Heyes said, also feeling annoyed. They’d been on the stage with the man for two days and this was the first mention of illness in Silver Lake.
"What for?" Zeb asked. "So’s you’d worry all the way home? Don’t see much point."
Heyes considered it, still irritated. His, "Thanks for the ride, Zeb," lacked enthusiasm. Then he followed Curry down the street toward the general store.
Will Taylor held multiple jobs in Silver Lake. He owned the general store. He also owned a family farm but did only enough farming to feed his stock and his family. The job that took up an increasing amount of his time these days was that of town mayor. It had come as something of a surprise. He’d never had much interest in politics, for certain, and the idea of running for mayor would never have entered his mind. But then the former mayor proved to be a criminal and the townsfolk had prompted Will to run for the office. Now, lo and behold, he was Mayor Will Taylor. Dividing his time between Town Hall, the store and home was taxing. Too often, his favorite jobs of husband and father took second place to some silly dispute about whether Mr. Johnson should be allowed to paint the front of his store that god-awful shade of green that clashed with the red trim on Mrs. Peasley’s confectionery. Today, however, he was in his store and rather enjoying himself. He’d had to hire a local boy to help out from time to time but today the store was his and it was quiet. Hot, but quiet. In fact, the whole town was quiet. He heard footfalls on the boardwalk outside and looked up just as Thaddeus Jones and Joshua Smith came through the open door.
"Well, I’ll be!" Will moved from behind the counter and hurried over to shake the men’s hands, clearly surprised. "You two weren’t due back for another month or more!"
Heyes grimaced. "Yeah, well, the hotel owner decided to shut the place down."
"Really?" Will raised an eyebrow. "Sounded like a nice place for all those rich folks. Kate said the food was good, nice fancy rooms…"
"Oh, it was nice," Curry agreed. "But there’s a place in Colorado Springs that’s getting most of the business."
"Healing springs," Heyes added, rolling his eyes. "Or so they say. All ours had was whiskey and gambling."
Will laughed. "Well, I’d think that would attract me a might more than sitting in a puddle of water, I don’t care how ‘healin’ it might be."
Heyes nodded, adding his own laughter. "Me, too. But most of these rich folks were crotchety and cantankerous and hot under the collar about everything anyway so…maybe puddles would cool ‘em off."
"We got paid through the month," Curry said with a shrug. "And it’s good to be home."
Will and Heyes exchanged winks. "He’s missed her," Heyes explained.
"Yeah, well, it’s mutual," Will grinned. Then he grew more serious. "’Course, she hasn’t had much time to miss you, too much. Been too busy taking care of sick folks. We’ve had this stomach flu goin’ around for a couple months, now. Almost everyone in town’s had it."
"Kate?" the Kid asked quickly. "Is she…?"
Will nodded reassurance. "She had it. Caught it right after she got home. Then I got it. Some others. Maggie and Kate and most of the other women were helping out around town, carin’ for the sick and their families. Then Maggie caught it and poor Kate got it again. They’re both better, now, but now the girls been down with it a couple days."
"Sounds pretty serious," Heyes said, genuinely concerned.
"Well, it hit over in Carson’s Creek first and they had a few folks die from it. Doc Kern from over there said they lost a couple of old folks who was sickly to begin with…and one infant…three month old. Too little to fight it off, I guess. Sad thing. But the doc’s been over here a few times to check on people and we ain’t lost anyone. Sure has taken the spark out of the town, though."
Curry began to fidget. Heyes and Will watched him for a moment, amused.
"Seems a mite nervous," Will said to Heyes.
"Anxious, is more like it," Heyes countered. "Anxious to get home to his…WIFE," Heyes added some unnecessary volume to the word. Then he winked at Will. "He’s got…plans."
Will shook with laughter. "I can just imagine. Well, I’ve seen his Missus and can’t say’s I’d blame him for that." He clapped Curry on the shoulder. "Congratulations on the marriage, Mr. Jones."
Curry accepted their teasing graciously. "I guess I’d better pay you for these rings," he told Will, holding up his left had to display the silver band. "Since it looks like we’re keeping ‘em."
It had been Will who had "loaned" wedding bands to Kate and the Kid for their trip to Colorado City, concerned that anyone think unkind thoughts about Kate. Now, the storekeeper shook his head.
"Nope. No payment necessary. Consider them my wedding gift," he said.
Curry contemplated arguing but caught the self-satisfied expression on Will’s face and, instead, said. "Thanks, Will. Really."
Taylor nodded. If someone had told him two years earlier that he’d consider Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry two of his best friends, he would have thought them mad. "You’re welcome. And now you’d better get home to her, don’t you think?"
Toting their satchels, Curry and Heyes began the mile walk to the Taylor’s home. The crops were doing well, despite the July heat. The late snow in March had given the soil a good soak that nurtured the seeds well, once they were sown. As they reached the road that led to the Taylor’s home and the school beyond, Curry felt his pulse quicken. It wasn’t from the walk, he knew. The family’s garden was growing well but needed weeding badly. No surprise. With the family sick, there’d no doubt been little time to spend tending to the garden. He could take care of that, he figured, now that he was home.
As they neared the house, Heyes caught a glimpse of movement in the back yard and headed them in that direction. They found Maggie in the middle of hanging laundry. She wore an old dress, frayed around the hem, and her hair was pulled up in a loose knot on the top of her head. The dim breeze blew stray blonde stands into her face. As she brushed them back, she heard a faint sound and turned around. Her eyes were tired, her face pale, but Maggie’s smile was warm at the sight of the two men.
"Oh, my word! You’re home!" She met them halfway across the yard, giving each man an eager hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Welcome home!"
Heyes pulled aside a blonde strand that had snagged on her eyelashes. "Thanks, Maggie."
"You’re early, though!" she added, worried sounding, fearing they’d run into some trouble that would send them away again.
But Heyes quickly reassured her, explaining the situation with the hotel. He noticed Curry looking toward the house impatiently. "I tried to talk him into headin’ to Denver for awhile," Heyes teased. "Play some poker, maybe. But for some reason, he wanted to come here."
Curry smirked at him and then looked questioningly at Maggie.
"I think she’s in the kitchen," Maggie smiled. "She was making some tea when I came out. Poor thing stayed up all night with the girls so I could get some sleep. They’ve both been sick for two days, can’t keep anything down."
"Will told us about this stomach ailment that’s going around," Heyes told her. "Are you alright?"
"Tired, is all," Maggie said. "Kate and I caught it earlier. I don’t think she’s quite over it, yet, either. Her appetite’s not what it usually is but she’s been working so hard helping everyone else."
"I think I’ll go…" Curry began, edging toward the house. He stopped and cocked his head at Heyes. "You comin’?"
Heyes set his satchel on the ground. "Naw. I think I’ll stay out here for a few minutes…help Maggie hang up some laundry."
Curry stopped in his tracks. "Huh?" Heyes shook his head, laughing, and the Kid caught up. "Oh," he grinned. "Thanks." Delighted at the thought of a few private minutes, Curry quickly went into the house.
Maggie and Heyes watched him until he disappeared. Then both erupted in laughter.
"That was very nice of you," Maggie said. She reached into her laundry basket for the end of a sheet and Heyes grabbed the other end to assist. "You don’t really have to do this," she said, offering him escape.
Heyes shrugged. "Might as well. You know how long it takes the two of them to say ‘hello’."
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