Thief of My Heart (Watty Awards Finalist 2012)

Chapter 22

"How long you gonna wait before we go get breakfast?'

"I don't want to just leave. What if she wakes up while we're gone?"

"She's a big girl, Heyes, I'm sure she'll figure out where we are.  Or you could leave her a note if you want." 

"Nah, you go ahead.  I want to be here if she wakes up.  I gotta hunch she ain't gonna be feeling too good."

"Ain't you hungry?"

"I'll go after you get back.  If she's still asleep.  And would you tell somebody to bring up some coffee.  She's gonna need it."

Kid just nodded.  He had his hand on the doorknob when he stopped.  "Heyes. we gotta make some decisions you know.  We need to be contacting her family.  Why don't I go on over to the telegraph office and send word to them right now.  We can tell them to forward any messages to Red Rock in care of Big Mac. "

Heyes said nothing.  He sat in the chair in front of the secretary, his hands clasped together, elbows on knees, staring at the floor.  He knew Kid was right.  Her family had to be notified.  But he knew it wasn't what she wanted.  And he wasn't sure it's what he wanted either.  But it was the only practical and sensible thing to do.

"Let's wait 'til we get to Red Rock."

Kid could see that his partner was torn.  Torn between doing what he knew was right for Evangeline and what he selfishly wanted.  "Alright, Heyes we'll wait until Red Rock.  But then we've got to get word to them."

"I know, I know.  Don't forget the coffee."

Once Kid was gone he went to sit by her bedside.  She had endured more  heartache in the last week than most people saw in a lifetime.  She deserved some peace and happiness for a change.  But he was afraid she wasn't going to be happy when she found out they were going to contact her family.  He would tell her tomorrow when she was feeling better.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sunlight coming through the windows was like daggers in her eyeballs.  Her head hurt, her body hurt, even her hair hurt.   Her mouth was so dry she had to peel her tongue from the roof of her mouth.  Why did she feel so horrible?

"Mornin'."

She rolled over slowly, and shielding her eyes against the blinding sun, looked up into a pair of bright shining blue eyes.  Thadd...no, Jed....no Kid.....oh whatever, she thought and flopped back over taking refuge from the sunlight under the quilt that topped her bed.

"Got you some coffee."

She just moaned.

"You better have some of this coffee.  It'll make you feel better.  Believe me I know.  I've had my share of hangovers in my day."

Another moan.

"Come on, now.  I told Heyes I'd get some of this down you if you woke up before he got back."

She poked her groggy head out from under the quilt and turned concerned eyes to Kid.  "Where is he?"

"He went to get breakfast.  I went earlier, and he stayed here waiting for you to wake up.  He finally gave up on you.  I told him I'd watch you.  And this time I wouldn't let you get out the door on me."

A confused look came over her face.  Then realization.  Then she covered her face with her hands.  "Oh,  Lord.  I went in a saloon last night didn't I?"

"Yep."

"And I punched some girl in the face, didn't I?"

"Yep."

Another moan.  "My mother would be horrified.  And my father would have throttled my behind.   You both probably think I'm the most troublesome, ninny headed person you've  ever had the misfortune of rescuing."

"Well, now I wouldn't go that far."

"Is he mad?"

"No,  he's just concerned that you walked into a place like that. Saloons are no place for a pretty young woman to be.  Especially one that can't hold her liquor.  Here, take the coffee."

She sat up slowly,  took the coffee and sipped it.  "Are you mad?"

"Me?  Nah.  I'm mad at myself for letting you get away from me.  But actually it's the best laugh I've had in a long time."

"Well, I hardly think that me getting drunk and assaulting someone is funny, Jed."

The strange expression that crossed his face didn't go unnoticed, even to her hungover eyes.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.  It's just that when you call me Jed it makes me think about being home with my folks and my sisters."

"Would you rather I called you Thaddeus all the time?"

"It really doesn't matter,  but Heyes is probably right.  It's probably best if you use our aliases.  That way you're not tempted to call us the wrong thing in front of the wrong people.  Especially if you plan on drinking very much wine."

"I don't think you have to worry about that.  I'm swearing off any kind of liquor.  This is only the second time in my life I've had it and both times it was disastrous."  She continued to sip her coffee which seemed to be easing her headache.   "It seems such a shame though not to be able to call you the names your parents gave you.  They are both such grand names.  Hannibal and Jedediah.  No wonder you're both on your way to becoming living legends with such legendary names."   She looked up from her cup of hot coffee to see Kid Curry standing and staring out the window onto the street below. "Something else is  bothering you.    You  look like you just lost your best friend."

"I think maybe I have."   He turned a forlorn half smile towards her.

Evangeline was taken aback by his words. Surely this strong confident deadly gunman wasn't feeling insecure because of her relationship with his friend.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that my partner cares about you.  Probably more than he should.  And you care about him too, don't you?"

"Of course I do.  I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to him.  But there's one thing I've understood from the very  first moment Joshua mentioned your name to me.  And that's that you two come as a pair.  You're  like shoes or gloves.  You have to have both of them or they don't work like they're supposed to.  If you take one you've got to take the other or it just doesn't work.  I know that and I understand it.  The two of you share a bond that could never be broken.   I don't even think he could pull his boots on in the morning if you weren't around."

"That's true. We do share a bond that most people will never understand.  But you understand it.  You know what it's like to lose everything and to be all alone in the world.  And the one person who was there to share that experience and that grief is the one person that you're gonna want to cling to.  The one person that makes you feel that you're not alone.   The one person you'll never want to lose."

"And you're afraid of losing him?"

"No.  I'm afraid of you losing him."

"I don't understand."

He knew Heyes wasn't going to like it when he found out he'd told her what he was about to tell her, but she deserved to know the truth.  "Living outside the law when you've got an impenetrable hideout like Devil's Hole is one thing.  But trying to live a law abiding life while the rest of the world thinks your still outside the law, and you don't have a sanctuary like Devil's Hole to go to any more, well, now that's a whole different story.

"Until our amnesty comes through, we have to live like gypsies.  Moving from town to town, trying to find honest work.  And just when we think we've found a place we can stay put a while, somebody will ride into town that we used to ride with or that we recognize as a passenger on train we've held up.  So we have to pack up and leave.  And we can't just go into a town and check into a hotel like normal people.   We have to check out the sheriff's office first, make sure we don't know him or any of his deputies.  And if the sheriff is somebody we've run into before, we have to keep on going to the next town.  No matter how tired we are, or how hungry, or what the weather is.  We keep riding until we come to a town where we don't recognize anybody.  And those are the times when we've got money.  If we're broke we  have to sleep outside, eat whatever we can find or shoot.   You know how tired you were of sleeping on the ground when we came into town last night?   And how bad you wanted a bath?"

She nodded.

"Well, me and Heyes have had to go for weeks at a time, with no bath, no bed and nothing to eat but berries we found growing wild outside.  It's a hard life most days for us, Evie.  And I haven't even told you about the times when we do get spotted by somebody who knows us and we have to high tail it out of town, watching over our backs hoping there's not a posse on our tails.  We've had to leave town before without going back to our hotel room to get our stuff.  Those are the times when it's really fun.  Then it's not just hard,  it's dangerous.  And it's no kind of life for a young woman."

She had never even considered the kind of hardships they must face on a daily basis, being wanted while trying to live straight and honest lives.  Her time with Joshua out on the trail, though born out of lose and grief, had been so magical that it had never occurred to her what life would be like after they arrived back in civilization.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is....if you've got your heart set on a white picket fence kind of life with Hannibal Heyes......the odds are against it Evie.  The only way either one of us can even hope to settle down and have a family, is if we get our amnesty.  And the longer we wait the weaker our hopes get that we're ever gonna get it.  And I care about you, and about him too much to watch the two of you get attached to one another and then have to watch you get your hearts broken.  And I'd sure hate it if something happened to us and you were left to fend for yourself.  We could be arrested or even killed at any time.   We're worth the same dead as we are alive." 

His words visibly shook her.  She felt suddenly like a deflated balloon.  All the wind was gone from her sails.  She longed for Josua's reassuring presence.  She wanted him to hold and tell her everything was going to be alright.  But he wasn't there.  She needed to be alone.  She had so much to think about.  She threw off the covers and began to make an  appearance of  eagerly  gathering soap and towel.

"I'd best be getting up.  I'd like to wash up and get changed if you'll excuse me."

"I'm sorry I had to upset you.  I just think you deserve to know what to expect.  And you need to consider your options for the future.  You've got a family you know.  I'm sure they would like to get to know you."

He went into the adjoining room and closed the door behind him.  She sat on the edge of the bed and stared hopelessly at the wooden floor.  How naive and stupid she was.  All this time she was foolishly thinking that she would just trail along behind Joshua wherever he went.  He would protect her and provide for her.  Even after she found out that he was the notorious outlaw Hannibal Heyes, she still had that same dillusional dream.  She had never once given any thought to how dangerous it might be.  Or how much of a liability she would be to them.  She might accidentally give them away to the wrong person and cost them their future.  Or their lives.  We're  worth the same dead as we are alive. She vigorously shook her head to rid her mind of those words.   She pictured the two of them riding hard to escape a relentless posse that was  shooting at them as they tried to get away.  Then she pictured Joshua trying to shield her from the bullets and getting shot himself.  Again she shook her head to banish the unwanted vision.   She didn't think she could live with herself if they were captured or killed because she had slowed them down.  She wished he were here now so she could ask him why he hadn't prepared her for the harsh reality of his world.  And why Thaddeus had had to do it. But she suspected that it was for the same reason he hadn't told her who really was in the first place.  He didn't think she could handle it and he didn't want to burden her with the truth.  He thought he could protect her from it.  He had promised her he wouldn't leave her at the first sheriff's office they came to.  She believed he wouldn't.  But she now believed that regardless of how he felt about her,   he would have to eventually leave her.  For her own sake and theirs as well. 

She poured water  into the basin and washed her face.  It was still sore from the backhand she'd taken from Harlan.  And her hand was sore, too.  From the right hook he'd given to the saloon girl. And her legs were achy.  From riding Jenny so many  hours yesterday.  And her head hurt.  And her stomach was queazy.  No doubt from the hangover. 

She pulled her dress off over her head.  She had slept in it all night and it was wrinkled and smelled like vomit.  Gee, I wonder why?  It was the only dress she had left that actually fit her. The red floral print calico had never been one of her favorites.  The dress Harlan had forced her to wear was ruined, stained with mud.  Her brother's shirt was nothing more than rags now.  And her mother's dress was almost as revealing as Sally's had been last night.  Why had she left her skirt, blouse and petticoats behind that very first day she'd been with Joshua.  She had been so distraught she had changed out of them and left them lying by the river's edge.   She had a trunk full of beautiful skirts, blouses and dresses inside her family's wagon.  But they were gone forever she was sure.   Oh, well she had little choice.  She laid her brothers britches out on the bed and decided she would ask one of the boys if she could  borrow a shirt.  They would be riding again in the morning anyway.   She stripped off her camisole and her bloomers and was met with an unwelcome surprise.   "Oh, no.  Not now,"  she groaned in dismay.  When was something going to go right for her.  The immature child that still lingered inside of her screamed, "This isn't fair!"   While the mature young lady her mother had taught her to be was saying,  "Just deal with it.  You've been through far worse."    The immature child and the mature young lady warred with each other for a moment before the pouting immature girl finally won.  She found Gabe's tattered shirt.  This would have to do.  She put her under clothes back on, climbed into the bed and buried herself under  the covers.   She refused to face another thing,  especially the prospect of giving Joshua up.

                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She awake yet?"

"Yeah, she's washing up and getting dressed,"  Kid told Heyes as he sat by the window and cleaned his Colt.

"How's she feeling?  She drink the coffee?"

"Yep.   And I don't think she feels too bad.  She seemed fine to me."

"How long has she been changing?"

"A pretty good while.  She should be done by now."

Heyes knocked lightly at her door.  "Evie?  You decent?"

No response.  He looked questioningly at Kid, who shrugged.

He knocked again as he cracked the door.  He stuck his head in slightly.  She was lying on her side in the middle of the  bed  facing away from the door covered up to her neck.

"Hey, I thought you were getting dressed."

"Go away," she mumbled.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just go away."

He crossed the room to her bedside.   "Are you sick?  Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I'm not sick.  Just go away."

"Are you hurt?"  He moved to pull the quilt from under her chin.

"NO!  I don't want you looking at me!"  she yelled as she clutched tightly to the quilt and turned further into the mattress.  "Please get out."

"Are you in pain?  Is it your hand?  Do I need to get the doc?"   He was starting to get worried.

She sighed heavily, knowing he wasn't going to relent and leave her alone.  "Yes I'm in pain, and no it's not my hand and no I don't need a doctor.  Just please go away, Joshua."  For the love of God please just go away.


"You're in pain?   Where?"  he sat on the edge of the bed.   "If you don't tell me where you hurt how can I make it better."

"You can't."

"No I can't if you don't let me try."

"Fine.  I hurt here."   She threw back the covers and placed her hand low on her abdomen.  "I have cramps." 

She wore only her under clothes.  And she was holding her belly.  Cramps?   It took him a moment to comprehend what she was saying.  When the realization came he silently mouthed the word "Oh," to himself.  Oh, great, now what was he supposed to do, or say?   He wasn't sure.  He rose silently from the bed and hurried back into the other room. 

"She alright?"

"Not exactly."

"She sick?"

"Not exactly."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's....uh, well, she's....doing that lady thing....you know that thing that ladies do.... every month." 

Kid stared at him, perplexed.  Then it sunk in.  "Ooohhh.   Oh.  What do we do?"  Kid asked with a panicked look on his face.

"That's what I came in here to ask you."

"Me?  How do I know what to do?"

"You're the lady's man right?"

"Well that part of the ladies ain't exactly my specialty, Heyes."

"Mine neither."

"Wait,"  Kid snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend, " I've got an idea.  I'll be back in a bit."   Kid grabbed his hat and headed out the door.

Heyes turned nervous eyes towards the adjoining bedroom.  This was the first time he'd really been alone with her since the Kid had come looking for them, and it wasn't the first time since he'd known her he hadn't wanted to be alone with her.  Only this time he wasn't afraid of what he might do to her.  He was afraid of what she might do to him.   He didn't know what to do when a woman was... doing that.  But he had heard horror stories from men in bunk houses and saloons.  He remembered one man describing it as walking blind folded in a field full of rattlesnakes. You had to tread cautiously.  One wrong step and.... Think Heyes,  women are like safes.  If they're particularly difficult to crack you have to be a little more patient, listen more carefully and be a little more delicate with the handling.  Eventually their door would swing open.  And if not you get a good bunch of dynamite....no, that won't work.  So, patient, attentive, delicate.  Piece of cake.  


He crept cautiously back to her bedside and sat beside her. 

"Why are you still here?"  she sounded annoyed.

"I had to go talk to Kid for a minute."

"You didn't tell him did you?"

"Well, I...I...."

"You did!  Oh!  How could you?  I didn't want you to know, let alone Thaddeus."

He stretched himself out beside her and spooned her against him. 

"Don't touch me."

"I can remember a time not too many days ago when somebody was begging me to let her sleep snuggled up next to me."

"That was before.  I wasn't having my monthly curse.  Don't you find it disgusting?"  She couldn't believe she was even discussing this particular subject with him.  No self respecting woman talked about such things, especially to a man.

He propped his head up on one elbow and looked down at her profile.  "No, I don't find it disgusting.  It's just part of being a woman, right.  And I think I'm beginning to like the fact that you're a woman more and more."   In fact he found her current condition to only accentuate her femininity and made him feel utterly male.   He felt an almost primitive need to protect her and stake a claim to her.

"Show me again where it hurts."

She placed her hand on her abdomen.  He folded back the quilt and slid his hand over her hip and in under her hand.  "Here?"  She nodded.  He began to move his hand in slow circles over her painful pelvis.  Patient, attentive, delicate.   "Better?"  Again she nodded and he felt her turn slightly towards him, giving him better access to her tender swollen belly. 

"Your hand is  warm.  Warmth always makes it better."  Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He withdrew his hand to pull the quilt back over them adding to the warmth.   She immediately missed the warm massaging of his large hand and wished it back.  She had been so ready for him to leave her alone earlier.  She had felt shamed and embarrassed.  But he had put her at ease and had helped to sooth her pain.  She felt no embarrassment now.  It felt right and natural.

He couldn't resist the temptation of her slender throat that lay exposed to his gaze and he nuzzled her there, inhaling the womanly scent of her.   He let his hand find its way back to her waist, and around to her stomach.  He encountered the top edge of her white bloomers.  With the subtlety and grace of an experienced pick pocket, his hand lifted the edge of her bloomers and eased its way down to splay across her bare abdomen before she had a chance to protest.

  She drew in a ragged breath.   She should have protested.  It was down right scandalous to be lying snuggled with man while she had her monthly curse.  But his heated, calloused, manly hands, caressing her made her feel so good, she didn't really care.  And so she turned even further towards him, practically onto her back and allowed him free access to her hurting flesh.  He began anew his circular caressing.  He looked down into her beautiful face, pinched in pain.  As she continued to minister to her hurting belly, her expression went from pained, to relaxed to seductive.  Her eyes fluttered open to find him watching her intently.  His eyes glazed over with a look of male possessiveness.  His wonderful warm hands had worked magic on her cramping womb and now she felt completely at ease.

This man, this beautiful man - again she wondered how she had ever thought him merely handsome - had now seen her at her very worst in every possible way.   When he'd  found her she had been unconscious.  He'd seen her hysterical.  He'd wiped her tears and her snotty nose when she was wracked with sorrow and grief.  He'd seen her too frightened to sleep alone.  He'd seen her dirty and he'd seen her clean.    He'd seen her laugh, cry, scream,  act like a brat and a jealous drunken idiot.    He'd fed her, clothed her, protected her.   He'd touched her in ways no man had ever touched her before and kissed her like she would never be kissed by anyone else.  And now as she lay here in the midst of the most private feminine experience a woman could have, he was here with her trying to comfort her and ease her pain.  He  wasn't running scared like most men would have.  On the contrary,  he was going out of his way to alleviate her embarrassment and discomfort, in spite of his own.  Just like he always did.  She didn't know what came over her then,  whether raging hormones or the undeniable charismatic presence of the man himself, but she was overwhelmed with the urge to nurture and care for him like he was always doing for her.   She reached and touched his face.  She moved her hands over his thick dark brows,  his feathery eyelashes, his cute nose, his full lips, and finally that dimple.  She laid her hand gently on his cheek as she caressed that beloved dimple with her thumb.  It felt like every nerve ending in her body was on fire when he turned his lips to kiss the palm of her hand.

This woman was going to be the death of him.  She was slowly torturing him to death with the looks she was giving him.  Did she have any idea what it was doing to him to have her touch him like this while she looked at him like that.  He doubted if she did.  She was too inexperienced and still so innocent.  But she was learning.  Fast.  He was completely baffled at this own behavior where she was concerned.  She had somehow become the exception to every rule he and the Kid had  set for themselves when it came to women.  There had never been a shortage of available and willing women in their lives, but being outlaws, they had always understood that you enjoyed them while you could and then you moved on.  Their partnership and their freedom came first.  But when Evangeline Webb had happened into his life, the rules had changed.  He had changed. Everything had changed.  And it was starting to scare the hell out of him.  But it didn't scare him half as much as losing her.  His intention was to plant a gentle kiss on her palm and leave her bed.  That was the wise thing to do.  But the contact of his lips to her skin,  and her quivering intake of breath when it happened, started an avalanche of emotions that he could not contain and they came crashing down on him in wave after wave of intense feeling.  He wanted to teach her everything he knew.  And protect her from things she shouldn't know He wanted to love her, protect her, make a life with her.  Her soft lips were parted slightly in anticipation, and he didn't make her wait any longer, as he brought his mouth down hungrily upon hers. 

It was like they were back inside that cave again, just the two of them, picking up where they had left off.   All the desire he had aroused in her then had been unfamiliar and a little frightening.  But now fear was replaced by curiosity and boldness.  She raised her head from the pillow and met his descending  mouth.  It was a purely carnal kiss at first.  Voracious in it's intensity.  It was like they were each trying to consume the other.  Desire and need were in the forefront.  Then something changed.  And it became an exercise in giving for both of them as each tried to convey to the other the depth of their feelings in the single act of touching mouths.  Instead of consuming each other they were feeding each other.  Everything that Thaddeus had said to her earlier, ceased to matter in this moment as she completely lost her self in the sensations he evoked in her with his mouth on hers and his hand on her belly.   Could anything be more wonderful than this, she thought.

Her question was answered when his hand, his oh so magical hand began a leisurely trek up her belly, past her navel and under the hem of her camisole.  Yes, there was something better.  She knew his intention and welcomed his seeking touch.  She arched her back in anticipation of his hand on her breast which was now heaving with desire.   Then from the adjoining room came the sound of a key turning in the lock, and the spell was broken.

  He jumped from the bed and away from her as if she were suddenly made of hot coals and he had been scalded.  Before her passion clouded mind could even make sense of what was happening, he'd went into the next room and closed the door, obviously not wanting her to be found in a compromising position.

Heyes barely had time to close Evie's door and make an attempt at acting natural, before the other door swung open and Kid Curry stepped in from the hallway, followed by a pretty blonde woman carrying a bundle in her arms.  He had not, however,  had time to conceal the physical evidence of the moment he'd just shared with Evangeline.

"Aw, no,"  Kid groaned turning his head away and putting up his hand as if to shield his eyes from a blinding light.

"Oh, crap,"  Heyes grumbled turning his back to them his face going beet red.  He pulled his shirt tail out to try and  conceal the telling bulge.

"Oh, my,"  said the blonde with an appreciative smile.

"Uh, she's right in here. Her name's Evangeline, she's a real nice girl.  You'll like her."   Kid practically shoved the blonde through the door to Evie's room before he closed it, not too lightly.

"Well, I don't guess I have to ask what's been going on since I left."

Heyes didn't answer.  He just kept his back to the Kid and stared out the window.
"Geez, Heyes, you sure work fast.  I was only gone ten minutes.   What the devil are you thinking?"

"Kid, I told you, when it comes to her I don't think, I just... react."

"You do know what that kind of reacting leads to don't ya?"

"For me usually a cigar and a good stiff whiskey,"  he smarted under his breath. 

"Ha ha, real funny.  But it also leads to babies.  And girls with ruined reputations.  Is that what you want?  To ruin her life?"

"Of course not!  I just can't help myself.  You know I've always been the epitome of self control.  But with her, I just can't control myself.  It's like finding a safe full of money out in the middle of nowhere, Kid, and it doesn't belong to anybody and you know you can crack the combination easy.  Would you be able to resist?"

"She's not a safe full of money, Heyes.   She's a nineteen year old girl.  A nineteen year old girl who's completely dependent on you."

"I know that,"  Heyes threw back a little defensively.  He was feeling more that a little ashamed of himself.  Not only for compromising Evie but for having been caught doing it.

"Not only that, she's in love with you.   She wouldn't say no to you about anything right now.  How far would you have taken things if we hadn't walked in when we did?"

His silence spoke volumes.

"That's what I thought.  Well, that settles it.  I'm not leaving the two of you alone for a minute and we're sending that telegraph to her kin folks today.  I'll send it as soon as Sally gets done with Evie.  I'll walk her back to the saloon."

"Sally?  From the saloon?  That was her?  You mean you just left those two in the same room together?"   Heyes was reaching for the doorknob when Kid stopped him.

"Relax.  I took care of it.  She's here to help with the uh...situation.  I figured we needed female help.  And I got to know Sally pretty well last night, so I asked for her help and she was more than willing.  Just let them have some time together.  She'll probably be glad to have some female company for a change."

He relented though he didn't like it.  He began to pace the floor in front of Evie's door.    He stopped several times to put his ear to the door.  He didn't hear anything.  Maybe Kid was right.  He'd just sit and wait.  And pray he wasn't going to have to bust in a stop a cat fight.