Brotherly Love (Chapter 1) - Alias Smith & Jones
Title: Brotherly Love (Chapter 1)
Author: onewhodreams
Rating: All
Characters: Heyes, Curry, etc...
Timeline: During Series
Story Summary: The two drifters look very familiar to a local farmer.
They sat quietly in the corner of the saloon, both drinking their beers. Two trail worn cowboys, their hats resting on the table in front of them. The man watched them carefully, noting the brown hair and brown eyes of the older looking one, his eyes were ever watchful, his gun tied low on his thigh, his black hat worn ragged. The younger one still had the appearance of a boy with his curly blonde hair and his piercing blue eyes. The stranger studied them, taking in details that no normal stranger would bother to notice, the way they talked quietly together, with an ease that spoke of a shared childhood, the cautious way each of them glanced towards the door occasionally, the shrewdness in the older man’s eyes, the dangerous way the younger one’s hand hovered near his holster.
He’d been watching them all day, analyzing every movement, every word they spoke. They didn’t call themselves Heyes and Curry, the had introduced themselves as Smith & Jones. But there was something about them, a familiarity, a nagging idea that he knew them. And so he’d kept seeking them out, first in the café, then in the saloon. He’d watched Smith play poker, watched him win with ease. He’d noted how Jones hung back, still in the eyeline of his partner, there to step in if trouble broke out. Over the years when he’d read about them in the news and in the dime store novels, this was how he’d pictured them.
He shook his head and passed a disbelieving hand over his face. It was impossible, wasn’t it? After all these years he had never dared to hope that he would run into them. He took a deep drink of his beer, trying to steel himself with courage. What would he say? Would they even remember him? Were they dangerous? Was it wise to approach them?
Then he saw the two get up to leave. As they exited the saloon, the stranger made a decision, it was now or never…If they were who he thought they were then this might be his only chance.
He followed them out the swinging doors and quietly strode down the street a good distance behind. Wisps of conversation drifted back.
“Nice, quiet town, isn’t it.”
“Too far east, too close to home.”
“What are you talkin’ about? We’re nowhere near Kansas.”
“Close enough.”
He was getting closer. He opened his mouth, about to speak, about to call attention to himself. A door opened behind him, he heard footsteps as someone stepped into the street, he kept walking, keeping pace with the two cowboys. And then he heard it.
“Curry!” A loud voice boomed out.
The curly haired man turned sharply, his hand gripping the but of his gun.
“John Curry! Hold up John, I need to talk to you.”
Blue eyes met blue eyes and held there for just a moment…but it was long enough.
John turned to see the sheriff running towards him.
“Hello Sheriff, how can I help you?”
“You still need help out at your farm?” the sheriff asked. John nodded in response.
“That’s good, glad to hear it. Think I might have someone for you. My wife’s nephew up in Brownville is interested in the job. Might take him a few weeks to get packed up and moved down here though. Think you might want to take him on?”
“If you recommend him that’s good enough for me. Go ahead and write him, and I’ll take him on when he gets here. ‘Til then I guess I’ll just have to make do.”
The Sheriff nodded and then shifted his focus to the two men who still stood nearby, the younger ones hand still resting on his gun.
“John, do you know these boys?”
John Curry cut a glance towards them and shook his head slowly, “No, can’t say as I do.”
“You boys want something?” the Sheriff asked suspiciously.
“No sir,” the one with the black hat answered immediately, “We’re just passing through. Just left the saloon over there and headed out to the stable.”
“Well, if that’s true you better tell your friend there to get his hand away from that gun, less he’s planning on getting it shot off.”
A subtle sideways glance in his partner’s direction revealed that his hand was indeed still clutching his gun. A less subtle wack to his arm got him to move his hand away as the Sheriff had instructed.
“What’s the matter with him?” the Sheriff asked.
“Him? Oh nothing’ he’s just a bit quiet. Says I do enough talking for the both of us,” the stranger thrust a hand in the Sheriff’s direction, “Name’s Joshua Smith, my friend here is Thaddeus Jones.”
After reluctantly shaking the offered hand the line of questioning continued, “He a gunfighter?”
“What?” Joshua Smith’s voice seemed to crack nervously on the word, “No…Like I said, Sheriff, we’re just passing through.”
“Hmmm…Well, I’ll just be checking my wanted posters to make sure. You two best ride out tonight. I don’t want no trouble. We’re a peaceable town.”
“Uh…Sheriff,” John Curry joined the conversation hesitantly, looking back and forth between the lawman and the pair that he so desperately wanted to speak to, “I was actually about to offer these men a job on my farm. I noticed them earlier and thought they looked like they could use work. I’m mighty desperate for some help and until your nephew gets here I’m just plain outta luck. I figure these two could help me out til then.”
The Sheriff shook his head, “John, these two look dangerous to me. Seems to me they’d rob you before they’d help you on the farm. Just look at those guns they’re wearing, tied down like that. These two aren’t fit to be out there unsupervised with your wife and son.”
John turned and made eye contact with both of them once more, confirming what he’d known all along. It didn’t matter what names they’d used, he knew they were who he thought they were. He’d be damned if he’d let this opportunity to make things right slip past him.
“Sheriff, I consider myself a pretty good judge of character and I think these boys deserve a chance. If they’re looking for work I’m willing to take them on.”
“Well boys,” the Sheriff began skeptically, “Are you looking for work?”
Joshua Smith closed one eye, cocked his head, and looked up at his friend’s slack jawed face, “Thaddeus, are we looking for work?”
Thaddeus was slow to respond, but eventually he worked something up, muttering, “Um…Yeah.”
His friend nodded briefly, then looked back at the lawman and the farmer with the familiar name, “We’ll take you up on that offer Mr. Curry. We’ll just go get the horses.”
“I’ll meet you behind the stables,” John responded.
“And I’ll be checking in on you boys,” the Sheriff warned as he turned to go.
John Curry watched as Joshua Smith turned Thaddeus Jones around and began to pull him towards the stables. Feeling tears form in his eyes he reached up to quickly wipe them away.
“Was that really who I think it was? John Curry…alive. Who would‘ve thought it?” Heyes asked in disbelief as he saddled his horse. Not hearing a reply he turned to find his partner sitting on a nearby hay bail. “Are you gonna saddle your horse or am I gonna have to do that too?”
“I just…I just can’t believe it. My brother’s been alive all this time.”
“I know, it’s pretty hard to get your mind around, but you’ve got to snap outta this. Now get up and saddle your horse before I leave you here.”
The Kid remained seated, still stubbornly staring straight ahead, “Heyes, I’m gonna kill him.”
“What?” Heyes exclaimed incredulously, “Why would you do that? Until ten minutes ago you thought he was dead. Don’t make any sense to kill him so soon.”
The Kid sighed and stood to gather his saddle, “Aren’t you mad at him at all?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad at him? He wasn’t even there, he was off fighting in the war.” Heyes tried to reason with his partner, “Kid, John didn’t cause our parent’s to get killed, he didn’t send us to an orphanage, he isn’t the reason we became outlaws. So why is it that you’re angry at him?”
The Kid just continued to saddle his horse in silence. He was still wrestling with his own feelings. Shock and anger had gripped him hard since he’d seen his long lost brother standing in the street. He couldn’t yet put words to his feelings, couldn’t explain them to Heyes.
As if sensing he needed his own personal space to deal with his own personal demons his partner finished his work and began to move outside. “You come on out when you’re ready,” Heyes called from the stable door.
Kid Curry stood alone in the stable, memories of his home in Kansas swirling in his head. Memories he’d long since buried. His brother leaving for war, still a boy, but at fifteen he’d set off, determined to join the fight. The Kid had been only ten years old. He remembered his mother crying that night, telling his father that she had a feeling she would never see him again. But there he’d been tonight, not ten foot from him. While his mother and father lay buried next to their burned out farmhouse just over the Kansas border.
He leaned his forehead wearily against the horses neck. What choice did he have? He had to go with him, he had to find out why he’d left them so long ago…and why he hadn’t comeback. Outside he heard the wheels of a wagon approaching the back of the stable.
“Hello, Mr. Curry,” Heyes greeted the newcomer alone, Kid still slowly saddling his horse, presumably deciding whether he was angry or confused at meeting his brother again on the street of a one-horse Nebraska cow-town.
John reached down to shake his hand, “Good evening, Mr. Jones.” There was a long pause as the other man wracked his brain, trying to decide how to broach the subject of their real relationship. “Mr. Jones…Joshua, I am right about who you and your friend really are, aren’t I?”
Heyes climbed into the saddle, slanting a meaningful look at the other man, “Mr. Curry, we’re still in the middle of town and the Sheriff’s not too keen on my partner and I. Apparently he thinks we look like a couple of outlaws. So for the record, I’m Joshua Smith and my partner is Thaddeus Jones, and that’s all I’m gonna say on the subject right now. That ok with you?”
John Curry nodded warily. If he was right and these men were his relations then they really were a couple of outlaws and had cause to be cautious of the Sheriff. Should he really be taking these men home to his wife and child? But there was no going back now. This…Joshua Smith, or Hannibal Heyes if he had guessed right, was ready to ride out with him. But where was the other one…where was Jed?
“Um….Where’s your friend Mr. Smith?”
“Probably still saddling his horse. Must be setting a record for the slowest time ever. I suspect he’s thinking, got a lot to think about right now.”
A nervous chuckle escaped him. He remembered his cousin’s banter as a child. He could keep the bullies busy for hours with some well-placed words.
“Are you two sure you won’t mind farming for a few weeks? There’ll be a lot of hard work involved.”
“I hate farming,” came the Kid’s brusque reply.
“Well, so glad you decided to join us. You finally get that horse saddled? Thought he might die of boredom waiting for you to get done,” Heyes said with a smile.
“Shut up,” Kid rejoined.
“We don’t mind farming at all, Mr. Curry,” Heyes replied as if Kid had never spoken, “A little honest, hard work is just what we’re looking for.”
“Alright boys, let’s get going then.” And with that John Curry set the wagon in motion and headed down the road out of town, Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones riding alongside.
They’d gone only a few miles when Heyes broke the silence again, “How far out of town is your farm, Mr. Curry?”
“Will you stop calling him Mr. Curry,” the Kid put in angrily.
“Well, that’s his name ain’t it?” Heyes reasoned.
The Kid rolled his eyes and reigned in his horse. John looked back at the scene and stopped the wagon. It was time to solve the mystery and find out once and for all.
“Boys, let’s have that talk now.” John looked down and took a moment to gather his thoughts, “When I was a boy I went off to war…My entire family was killed in the Border Wars while I was gone. I think you might have a similar story.”
Heyes and the Kid made eye contact. Heyes nodded slowly, “Yes John, we do. Our family was killed in the Border Wars as well…Except…one. We thought he died in the war. It appears we were wrong.”
“Hannibal?” John asked, though he didn’t need to anymore, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was his cousin.
Heyes dismounted as John climbed down from the wagon, “Yes, it’s me. Good to see you again John. I just can’t believe you’re alive. We always thought we’d lost you too.” The two embraced warmly. John wiped tears away, while Heyes blinked rapidly, trying to hide the wetness in his own eyes.
“Jed?” John asked cautiously, realizing there was something wrong, “But it’s not Jed anymore, is it? You’re Kid now.”
Kid remained stubbornly seated on his horse, not answering.
Heyes walked over to him and put a hand on his arm, “Kid, please. I told you before, there’s no reason to be mad. Can’t you just be happy that your brother’s alive and that we’ve found him?”
The Kid shook his head, “No, I can’t. I don’t know why Heyes. I’m not like you. I can’t just explain how I feel.”
“At least say hello to him. Once we get to the farm we’ll be Smith and Jones again.”
John shook his head, “What do you mean? My wife, Sarah, she knows about Kid Curry being my brother, you don’t have to worry about her.”
“I know John, it’s not your wife we’re worried about,“ Heyes began to explain, “It’s just that we gotta be careful. Especially with the Sheriff suspicious about us already. It’d just be safer for everyone if we use the other names. That way there’ll be less chance for slip ups when the Sheriff visits.”
John nodded his understanding, then looked up at his baby brother, “Jed, it’s been a long time. You were just a boy last time I saw you. I can’t believe it’s been so long.”
“Yeah, it has,” the Kid answered simply.
John glanced nervously at Heyes, receiving a nod of encouragement he tried again, “How’ve you been?”
Kid just sat there, his anger rolling off of him in waves. When at last he spoke it was in a cold, emotionless voice, “I’ve been an orphan and an outlaw. I‘m not your baby brother anymore, John.” Immediately Kid kicked his horse into motion taking off down the road without them.
“Kid…Kid!” Heyes called after him. The Kid kept on riding. Heyes sighed heavily and shook his head. “Did I mention that he’s stubborn?”
“Nothing’s changed then, he was always as stubborn as a mule,” John responded.
Heyes gave his cousin a long, measuring look, his eyes full of sadness, “Everything’s changed, John…everything."
Author: onewhodreams
Rating: All
Characters: Heyes, Curry, etc...
Timeline: During Series
Story Summary: The two drifters look very familiar to a local farmer.
They sat quietly in the corner of the saloon, both drinking their beers. Two trail worn cowboys, their hats resting on the table in front of them. The man watched them carefully, noting the brown hair and brown eyes of the older looking one, his eyes were ever watchful, his gun tied low on his thigh, his black hat worn ragged. The younger one still had the appearance of a boy with his curly blonde hair and his piercing blue eyes. The stranger studied them, taking in details that no normal stranger would bother to notice, the way they talked quietly together, with an ease that spoke of a shared childhood, the cautious way each of them glanced towards the door occasionally, the shrewdness in the older man’s eyes, the dangerous way the younger one’s hand hovered near his holster.
He’d been watching them all day, analyzing every movement, every word they spoke. They didn’t call themselves Heyes and Curry, the had introduced themselves as Smith & Jones. But there was something about them, a familiarity, a nagging idea that he knew them. And so he’d kept seeking them out, first in the café, then in the saloon. He’d watched Smith play poker, watched him win with ease. He’d noted how Jones hung back, still in the eyeline of his partner, there to step in if trouble broke out. Over the years when he’d read about them in the news and in the dime store novels, this was how he’d pictured them.
He shook his head and passed a disbelieving hand over his face. It was impossible, wasn’t it? After all these years he had never dared to hope that he would run into them. He took a deep drink of his beer, trying to steel himself with courage. What would he say? Would they even remember him? Were they dangerous? Was it wise to approach them?
Then he saw the two get up to leave. As they exited the saloon, the stranger made a decision, it was now or never…If they were who he thought they were then this might be his only chance.
He followed them out the swinging doors and quietly strode down the street a good distance behind. Wisps of conversation drifted back.
“Nice, quiet town, isn’t it.”
“Too far east, too close to home.”
“What are you talkin’ about? We’re nowhere near Kansas.”
“Close enough.”
He was getting closer. He opened his mouth, about to speak, about to call attention to himself. A door opened behind him, he heard footsteps as someone stepped into the street, he kept walking, keeping pace with the two cowboys. And then he heard it.
“Curry!” A loud voice boomed out.
The curly haired man turned sharply, his hand gripping the but of his gun.
“John Curry! Hold up John, I need to talk to you.”
Blue eyes met blue eyes and held there for just a moment…but it was long enough.
John turned to see the sheriff running towards him.
“Hello Sheriff, how can I help you?”
“You still need help out at your farm?” the sheriff asked. John nodded in response.
“That’s good, glad to hear it. Think I might have someone for you. My wife’s nephew up in Brownville is interested in the job. Might take him a few weeks to get packed up and moved down here though. Think you might want to take him on?”
“If you recommend him that’s good enough for me. Go ahead and write him, and I’ll take him on when he gets here. ‘Til then I guess I’ll just have to make do.”
The Sheriff nodded and then shifted his focus to the two men who still stood nearby, the younger ones hand still resting on his gun.
“John, do you know these boys?”
John Curry cut a glance towards them and shook his head slowly, “No, can’t say as I do.”
“You boys want something?” the Sheriff asked suspiciously.
“No sir,” the one with the black hat answered immediately, “We’re just passing through. Just left the saloon over there and headed out to the stable.”
“Well, if that’s true you better tell your friend there to get his hand away from that gun, less he’s planning on getting it shot off.”
A subtle sideways glance in his partner’s direction revealed that his hand was indeed still clutching his gun. A less subtle wack to his arm got him to move his hand away as the Sheriff had instructed.
“What’s the matter with him?” the Sheriff asked.
“Him? Oh nothing’ he’s just a bit quiet. Says I do enough talking for the both of us,” the stranger thrust a hand in the Sheriff’s direction, “Name’s Joshua Smith, my friend here is Thaddeus Jones.”
After reluctantly shaking the offered hand the line of questioning continued, “He a gunfighter?”
“What?” Joshua Smith’s voice seemed to crack nervously on the word, “No…Like I said, Sheriff, we’re just passing through.”
“Hmmm…Well, I’ll just be checking my wanted posters to make sure. You two best ride out tonight. I don’t want no trouble. We’re a peaceable town.”
“Uh…Sheriff,” John Curry joined the conversation hesitantly, looking back and forth between the lawman and the pair that he so desperately wanted to speak to, “I was actually about to offer these men a job on my farm. I noticed them earlier and thought they looked like they could use work. I’m mighty desperate for some help and until your nephew gets here I’m just plain outta luck. I figure these two could help me out til then.”
The Sheriff shook his head, “John, these two look dangerous to me. Seems to me they’d rob you before they’d help you on the farm. Just look at those guns they’re wearing, tied down like that. These two aren’t fit to be out there unsupervised with your wife and son.”
John turned and made eye contact with both of them once more, confirming what he’d known all along. It didn’t matter what names they’d used, he knew they were who he thought they were. He’d be damned if he’d let this opportunity to make things right slip past him.
“Sheriff, I consider myself a pretty good judge of character and I think these boys deserve a chance. If they’re looking for work I’m willing to take them on.”
“Well boys,” the Sheriff began skeptically, “Are you looking for work?”
Joshua Smith closed one eye, cocked his head, and looked up at his friend’s slack jawed face, “Thaddeus, are we looking for work?”
Thaddeus was slow to respond, but eventually he worked something up, muttering, “Um…Yeah.”
His friend nodded briefly, then looked back at the lawman and the farmer with the familiar name, “We’ll take you up on that offer Mr. Curry. We’ll just go get the horses.”
“I’ll meet you behind the stables,” John responded.
“And I’ll be checking in on you boys,” the Sheriff warned as he turned to go.
John Curry watched as Joshua Smith turned Thaddeus Jones around and began to pull him towards the stables. Feeling tears form in his eyes he reached up to quickly wipe them away.
“Was that really who I think it was? John Curry…alive. Who would‘ve thought it?” Heyes asked in disbelief as he saddled his horse. Not hearing a reply he turned to find his partner sitting on a nearby hay bail. “Are you gonna saddle your horse or am I gonna have to do that too?”
“I just…I just can’t believe it. My brother’s been alive all this time.”
“I know, it’s pretty hard to get your mind around, but you’ve got to snap outta this. Now get up and saddle your horse before I leave you here.”
The Kid remained seated, still stubbornly staring straight ahead, “Heyes, I’m gonna kill him.”
“What?” Heyes exclaimed incredulously, “Why would you do that? Until ten minutes ago you thought he was dead. Don’t make any sense to kill him so soon.”
The Kid sighed and stood to gather his saddle, “Aren’t you mad at him at all?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad at him? He wasn’t even there, he was off fighting in the war.” Heyes tried to reason with his partner, “Kid, John didn’t cause our parent’s to get killed, he didn’t send us to an orphanage, he isn’t the reason we became outlaws. So why is it that you’re angry at him?”
The Kid just continued to saddle his horse in silence. He was still wrestling with his own feelings. Shock and anger had gripped him hard since he’d seen his long lost brother standing in the street. He couldn’t yet put words to his feelings, couldn’t explain them to Heyes.
As if sensing he needed his own personal space to deal with his own personal demons his partner finished his work and began to move outside. “You come on out when you’re ready,” Heyes called from the stable door.
Kid Curry stood alone in the stable, memories of his home in Kansas swirling in his head. Memories he’d long since buried. His brother leaving for war, still a boy, but at fifteen he’d set off, determined to join the fight. The Kid had been only ten years old. He remembered his mother crying that night, telling his father that she had a feeling she would never see him again. But there he’d been tonight, not ten foot from him. While his mother and father lay buried next to their burned out farmhouse just over the Kansas border.
He leaned his forehead wearily against the horses neck. What choice did he have? He had to go with him, he had to find out why he’d left them so long ago…and why he hadn’t comeback. Outside he heard the wheels of a wagon approaching the back of the stable.
“Hello, Mr. Curry,” Heyes greeted the newcomer alone, Kid still slowly saddling his horse, presumably deciding whether he was angry or confused at meeting his brother again on the street of a one-horse Nebraska cow-town.
John reached down to shake his hand, “Good evening, Mr. Jones.” There was a long pause as the other man wracked his brain, trying to decide how to broach the subject of their real relationship. “Mr. Jones…Joshua, I am right about who you and your friend really are, aren’t I?”
Heyes climbed into the saddle, slanting a meaningful look at the other man, “Mr. Curry, we’re still in the middle of town and the Sheriff’s not too keen on my partner and I. Apparently he thinks we look like a couple of outlaws. So for the record, I’m Joshua Smith and my partner is Thaddeus Jones, and that’s all I’m gonna say on the subject right now. That ok with you?”
John Curry nodded warily. If he was right and these men were his relations then they really were a couple of outlaws and had cause to be cautious of the Sheriff. Should he really be taking these men home to his wife and child? But there was no going back now. This…Joshua Smith, or Hannibal Heyes if he had guessed right, was ready to ride out with him. But where was the other one…where was Jed?
“Um….Where’s your friend Mr. Smith?”
“Probably still saddling his horse. Must be setting a record for the slowest time ever. I suspect he’s thinking, got a lot to think about right now.”
A nervous chuckle escaped him. He remembered his cousin’s banter as a child. He could keep the bullies busy for hours with some well-placed words.
“Are you two sure you won’t mind farming for a few weeks? There’ll be a lot of hard work involved.”
“I hate farming,” came the Kid’s brusque reply.
“Well, so glad you decided to join us. You finally get that horse saddled? Thought he might die of boredom waiting for you to get done,” Heyes said with a smile.
“Shut up,” Kid rejoined.
“We don’t mind farming at all, Mr. Curry,” Heyes replied as if Kid had never spoken, “A little honest, hard work is just what we’re looking for.”
“Alright boys, let’s get going then.” And with that John Curry set the wagon in motion and headed down the road out of town, Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones riding alongside.
They’d gone only a few miles when Heyes broke the silence again, “How far out of town is your farm, Mr. Curry?”
“Will you stop calling him Mr. Curry,” the Kid put in angrily.
“Well, that’s his name ain’t it?” Heyes reasoned.
The Kid rolled his eyes and reigned in his horse. John looked back at the scene and stopped the wagon. It was time to solve the mystery and find out once and for all.
“Boys, let’s have that talk now.” John looked down and took a moment to gather his thoughts, “When I was a boy I went off to war…My entire family was killed in the Border Wars while I was gone. I think you might have a similar story.”
Heyes and the Kid made eye contact. Heyes nodded slowly, “Yes John, we do. Our family was killed in the Border Wars as well…Except…one. We thought he died in the war. It appears we were wrong.”
“Hannibal?” John asked, though he didn’t need to anymore, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was his cousin.
Heyes dismounted as John climbed down from the wagon, “Yes, it’s me. Good to see you again John. I just can’t believe you’re alive. We always thought we’d lost you too.” The two embraced warmly. John wiped tears away, while Heyes blinked rapidly, trying to hide the wetness in his own eyes.
“Jed?” John asked cautiously, realizing there was something wrong, “But it’s not Jed anymore, is it? You’re Kid now.”
Kid remained stubbornly seated on his horse, not answering.
Heyes walked over to him and put a hand on his arm, “Kid, please. I told you before, there’s no reason to be mad. Can’t you just be happy that your brother’s alive and that we’ve found him?”
The Kid shook his head, “No, I can’t. I don’t know why Heyes. I’m not like you. I can’t just explain how I feel.”
“At least say hello to him. Once we get to the farm we’ll be Smith and Jones again.”
John shook his head, “What do you mean? My wife, Sarah, she knows about Kid Curry being my brother, you don’t have to worry about her.”
“I know John, it’s not your wife we’re worried about,“ Heyes began to explain, “It’s just that we gotta be careful. Especially with the Sheriff suspicious about us already. It’d just be safer for everyone if we use the other names. That way there’ll be less chance for slip ups when the Sheriff visits.”
John nodded his understanding, then looked up at his baby brother, “Jed, it’s been a long time. You were just a boy last time I saw you. I can’t believe it’s been so long.”
“Yeah, it has,” the Kid answered simply.
John glanced nervously at Heyes, receiving a nod of encouragement he tried again, “How’ve you been?”
Kid just sat there, his anger rolling off of him in waves. When at last he spoke it was in a cold, emotionless voice, “I’ve been an orphan and an outlaw. I‘m not your baby brother anymore, John.” Immediately Kid kicked his horse into motion taking off down the road without them.
“Kid…Kid!” Heyes called after him. The Kid kept on riding. Heyes sighed heavily and shook his head. “Did I mention that he’s stubborn?”
“Nothing’s changed then, he was always as stubborn as a mule,” John responded.
Heyes gave his cousin a long, measuring look, his eyes full of sadness, “Everything’s changed, John…everything."