Chapter 34

It would be a couple more hours until sunrise the old man surmised as he stared at the darkness surrounding him. He then glanced toward the valley below thinking of the men he knew were still down there. He slipped back through the crevice in the rock wall along the slope and made his way further into the cave. From the dim light cast by the fire, he saw a small movement on the bedroll near the wall.

Rushing forward, he knelt down and was met with a pair of half open eyes obviously struggling to adjust to the darkness of the cave.

"Take it easy, boy," the old man cautioned in a gentle voice. "You've had a rough time of it and don't want to be moving around all too quick like. Here, have some water. I wish I had more to give ya but this'll have to do." He helped his son lift his head up and drink from the tin cup offered to him.

"You're one lucky boy, Joey, you sure are, son," the man said, as he readjusted the covers around the injured young man. The response he got took him off guard.

Joey? Kid closed his eyes briefly then opened them, hoping this strange man was just a mirage. Why was he calling him Joey? Kid knew his name was Kid, he even knew the name his parents had given him at birth. He knew where he lived, the job he had up until a few days ago and more than anything, he knew he had the most incredible woman in the world as his wife.

So why was this old man using words like 'Joey' and 'son'? Kid pulled away from the man's grasp, then hissed as his shoulder ached from a searing pain coursing through it.

"I told ya to take it easy. I had to remove the bullet myself and you lost quite a bit of blood," the man explained as he lifted the make-shift bandage to check the wound. "You keep movin' like that and it's bound to start bleedin' again."

Kid pulled away again, only this time he moved his body and not just his shoulder. "It's fine ... and thanks for taking care of it," he said awkwardly. “Where am I? What happened?” He slowly moved his eyes to glance around him. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was riding down the slope behind Buck and then … and then … nothing. What happened after that? Why couldn’t he remember?

“You got shot and considerin’ what you were in the middle of, I’d say it was a good thing it happened.”

He’d been shot. He looked in confusion at the old man sitting across from him – why did he think it was good someone had been shot? How long ago did that climb down into the valley take place? "What time is it?" They were in the depths of a cave so it was impossible to tell if the sun or moon were out at that moment.

"Couple hours till sunrise," the man told him. "You'd have been up sooner once I got the bullet out, that wound's not life threatenin', but you hit your head when you fell. You got a mighty fine egg there to prove it too." He chuckled as he indicated with a stick where the bump was.

Kid gingerly felt the side of his head, no wonder it was throbbing and that would explain his loss of memory. The pain was alternating between his shoulder and his head. He knew he was damn lucky this man had taken the bullet out when he did or Kid would have bled to death. But how did the guy get a hold of him and where were the others? Buck had been right in front of Kid; surely he was looking for him now? And what about Jimmy? Jimmy wouldn't leave without him.

"What happened to the other men?" He grabbed his shoulder as it continued to throb. He tried to take it easy, figuring he'd be needed his strength back as soon as possible, but this man was making him very nervous.

"Well that gang that was hidin' here lost most of its men and the marshal only lost a few. You're lucky I got to you before them 'cause now they think you're dead and won't be bringin' you in to jail." He stoked the fire with the stick he’d been holding as he waited for his son to thank him for helping out.

Kid forced himself into a semi sitting position. "Dead? They think I'm dead?" he asked, panicking. If Jimmy and the others returned without him, what would it do to Lou? And after all the promises he'd made to her, this would kill her for sure. Then he recalled something else the man had said. "You've got it all wrong, they weren't bringing me in, I was riding with them as a member of the posse."

"They had badges, Joey, I seen 'em with my own eyes."

"My name's not Joey and I had a badge on too." Kid glanced at his chest then looked away in defeat as he remembered that his shirt and coat had been removed. "If you didn’t see it then it musta fallen off," he muttered more to himself than to the man.

"What do you mean your name's not 'Joey'? What did you do, change it on me?"

"It was never Joey to change. My name's Kid. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you but I'm not your son and I don't know anyone with that name." Kid clenched his teeth to retain what little strength he possessed. He was getting nervous with how this man kept looking at him, like he knew everything about him.

"Oh, so now I'm not good enough to be your pa, is that it? Raisin' you wasn't enough, huh? Now you want nothin' to do with me." The old man stood up and started pacing behind the fire. He looked at Kid with fire in his eyes, akin to the flames burning in the stone circle separating the two men.

"I'm sure you did a real fine job raisin' your son but I ain't him," Kid said slowly, trying to get the man to settle down and listen to him. "I got people who are gonna be worried about me - I gotta let them know I'm alright." He tried to lean forward but was instantly pushed back onto the pallet as the man was at his side in two quick strides.

"You ain't goin' anywhere, not till you’re healed proper like, then you'll be comin' home with me."

Kid heard the sternness in the other voice and figured it was better to placate him so he nodded to the man. But his mind was already thinking of how to get out of there. "I've got to get away from him," Kid said to himself, "before he does me more harm than good." He looked at the man who had seated himself across the fire from him once more and was now busy heating something over the flames. Kid needed to know a few things first. "What happened to the horse I was riding? Where is she?"

"Mighty pretty paint," the old man commented, watching the flames before turning accusatory eyes Kid's way. "What'd ya do? Steal her? Is that why they were after ya, for horse thievin'? Huh?"

"No!" Kid cried defiantly then started coughing. He waited to catch his breath before protesting, "She's mine - not that it's any of your business."

"Don't sass me boy!" the man warned, directing a crooked finger at Kid. "You show respect when talking to your pa."

"Like I said before, you ain't my pa and my name is not boy, it's Kid."

"Boy, kid, what's the difference. Alright maybe you didn't steal the horse but you done somethin' and I wanna know what it is. Then I wanna know where this came from."

Kid was shocked once again by how quickly the figure moved for being on in years. He was next to Kid before he knew it and grabbed Kid's left hand. He winced in pain as the action moved his shoulder, causing the wound to feel as if flames were shooting through it worse than before. 'His father' indicated the shiny gold band around his finger.

"What did you do now, get a girl in trouble? Her pa force you into a shotgun weddin'?"

"No!" Kid cried once more, pulling his hand away. "I married for love and nothin' else." He didn't know why he still felt like he needed to defend himself to this guy. Maybe it was because Kid never liked anyone thinking ill of him. Then there was the fact that just because he didn't display a gun didn't mean there wasn't one nearby. And what if this old fella had a trigger finger, then what?

"And who is Lou? You kept callin' his name out when you were unconscious."

Kid got a faraway look to his eyes as he thought of his wife - his wife who was probably going to be panicking real soon when he didn't show up with the others. The only gleam of hope Kid possessed was that Lou wouldn't believe anything she was told unless there was hard evidence. And the only evidence she would accept would be his stilled body and that wasn't about to happen.

"Well, who is he?" the old man persisted.

"Someone I know," Kid answered cautiously. He'd probably told this man too much already - he'd better be careful from this point on. He was glad when he wasn't asked any more questions, just handed a bowl of hot beans instead.

"Eat up, get your strength back, then we'll head out of here," the man said. "It's been a long time since we been together, Joseph. Things are gonna be better between us this time, I promise. I was just kinda messed up all those years ago, on account of your mama's passin'. I didn't handle it well and I apologize but I'll make it up to you, I swear, or my name's not Thomas Murray."

Kid nodded in agreement, anything to get this man to stop going on and on about something that didn't pertain to him. Well, at least he'd found out the man's name and that something bad had happened between him and his son. Maybe if Kid played along, it would be in his favor. While this conversation had been going on, he'd been surveying his surroundings. Kid noticed that there was quite a collection of used cans, a couple items of clothing lying around and a nice stack of firewood against one of the walls. Kid figured the man must camp out here on a regular basis. He also saw the way out of the cave and then he noticed his shirt, coat and hat carefully laid out on some rocks at the edge of his feet. He hoped with all his might that his gun was under his clothing though he was sure that wish was made in vain.

He placed his bowl on the ground then pretended to yawn. "I'm awful tired ... Pa," Kid said with emphasis. "I think I'm gonna try to get some shut-eye, regain my strength so we can get out of here. It looks to me like you could use some too. Oh, and Pa, I forgive you. The past is in the past, let's just look forward." He leaned back against the bedroll. That was a lot of talking and took more energy than he thought it would to get it all said.

But it was worth it when he noticed Murray's face - it was beaming with pride. "Anything you want, son, and I'll give it to you, just as long as you stay in my life. Now you take it easy; we both will." He straightened the blankets around Kid's shoulders then moved to an old blanket he'd laid out on the other side of the fire. "You sleep real well, son."

"I will, don't worry," Kid replied, watching Murray make himself comfortable. Now if he only had the willpower to carry out his plan. "I'm comin' home, Lou," he said to himself, looking at the circle of love upon his finger, which she'd placed there. "Don't give up on me yet," he added to his thoughts then settled down to await the perfect opportunity.