Chapter 47

Buck had begun to think this search of the creek would also be in vain and just as he was about to admit defeat, he and Charlie had heard shouting from up ahead. Both men paused in an attempt to listen to what was being said. They recognized the gruff voice of the trapper then Buck nearly shouted in joy as he heard a second person speaking and immediately identified it as the quiet, firm voice of the Kid.

They had found him!

Trudging through the water, Buck and Charlie made their way to the sandy shore then took off running toward the direction of the voices, which had stopped the moment they had started down the trail. They rounded a bend in the path, Buck in the lead, and then they stopped short. The happy greeting Buck wanted to call out was quickly forgotten as he saw the intense situation Kid was in the middle of.

“Kid!” Buck called out in alarm.

Seeing his friend being challenged by the old trapper, a rifle pointed at him, spurred Buck into action. He quickly drew his weapon, as Charlie did the same, and then took a few steps forward.

Kid had no time to show any reaction over finding out that the two of them weren’t alone in the valley. As soon as the footsteps were heard, Murray had come closer to Kid, forcing him to back up and turn his attention toward the older man once again; Murray then raised his gun in the direction of the trail. He kept repeating “I won’t let them take you away from me, son. They can’t have you.” Kid began to fear for his life as well as that of whoever was approaching and knew he had to take action instantly to end this once and for all. He just hadn’t expected to know the person coming up on them but celebrating would have to wait.

Kid put his hand out behind him but didn’t look back. “Stay right there, Buck, don't come any closer. There's no need for the guns. Everything's under control." He was amazed he sounded as calm as he did, especially since he thought he would faint dead away with relief just at the thought that someone else was in the valley besides him and the old man. But then to hear his name called and realize the voice saying it belonged to Buck was too much to hope for.

"Control, my foot!" Charlie argued before Buck could get a word out. He quickly moved next to Buck in an attempt to help protect the unarmed man. "He's nothing but a liar and a conniver and he's holding a rifle on you." He took a firmer hold on his gun, amazed to see the man in such a calm state. Even more amazing was the fact that Kid was still standing, considering how poorly he looked.

"Now I'm holdin' it on you," Murray pointed out, switching the direction of his weapon. No one was going to separate the two of them again, he’d see to that.

Buck was mad at himself for letting his relief take over his sensibilities. He just hadn’t considered the old man having a gun on him so he’d entered the situation like a fool. He had briefly hoped that two guns against one would be enough but standing between the rifle and their guns was the Kid and it looked like the trapper wouldn’t hesitate to use it on his injured friend.

"Just back up nice and slow and drop those weapons. Do it!" Murray commanded. He waved the rifle in their direction trying to get the two deputies away from his son.

“Buck, do as he says,” Kid told him. He knew how unstable Murray’s mind was and didn’t want his friend taking any unnecessary chances.

“You best do as he tells you. You might have those guns trained on me but I assure you I can get a shot off just as fast as you can. You wanna take a chance on who winds up with a bullet inside him first?” He waved the gun at the Indian, the blonde boy then finally stopped when he was pointing it at Joey.

Buck muttered under his breath. He hated that the trapper was right but even with Charlie’s gun pointed at the old man as well, he couldn’t risk Kid’s life. He hoped he would get the opportunity to apologize to Kid for not accomplishing anything; if only he hadn’t run into the open as quickly as he had but there was no use harping on that now. Reluctantly, he lowered the weapon, placing it on the ground, as Charlie did the same. He and Charlie slowly backed away, taking a couple steps in the direction they had just come from.

Thomas Murray saw he was in control once again. "Now don't be gettin' any more ideas about takin' my boy away with you. I won't let you put him in jail. I lost him once, I ain't about to lose him again."

"Your boy?" Buck asked in confusion, glancing at the back of Kid's head as if the man could read his thoughts. He glanced at Charlie, trying to make sense of what was being said. “Kid, is he … is he your father?” he asked in disbelief. It was possible since Kid had never actually said his father was deceased and they didn’t know his real name.

"That's right, he's my son." Murray moved closer to Kid. "Why you bein' nice to them, Joey? And after the way they were dragging you in for horse thievin'?"

"What are you talking about?" Kid asked in confusion. "They weren't taking me anywhere. I keep trying to tell you I'm not your son, my name's not Joey, it is Kid. And these are my friends, my family. I also have family waiting back home for me; I have a promise to keep and I'm not about to let you or anybody stop me from keeping it. You knew they were here all along, looking for me, and you kept them from me, made me think they’d really left me behind."

"I had to. I couldn't let them take you to jail," Murray tried to explain. His gun was resting at his side now as he heard the hurt in Joey's voice. "What was I supposed to do? You're my son and I'll do whatever it takes to protect you."

"And that's what you did before, isn't it? Only it didn't go like you planned," Kid said, not taking his eyes off the trapper. "I'm sorry I can't be who you want me to be and I'm afraid this is all your doin'."

Kid stepped back, holding the grasses aside as he did. "I'm not your son ... there's your son." He moved aside, revealing a cross made out of tree branches.

Buck and Charlie saw what Kid was indicating but still had no idea what exactly was going on. They did see this as their opportunity to get their weapons back in their hands and trained on the trapper once again. The old man looked to be on the brink of losing it and they wanted to be prepared if need be.

Thomas Murray blinked with unseeing eyes. “He's wrong,” he told himself, “my son is right in front me - I'd know him anywhere.”

"Take a closer look, Murray," Kid told him. "Notice the name on the cross. I'm assuming you were the one to put it there."

"You're wrong, damn you, you're wrong!" The old trapper sprung toward Kid with all his might, just as the younger man stepped out of the way. Murray lost his footing and landed at the foot of the cross. Glancing up, his eyes came in contact with the words Joseph Murray.

"No!!"

As the word echoed throughout the valley, Kid quietly backed away, until he was standing next to the other men, glancing their way for the first time since their arrival. Instinctively, Buck reached out to grab hold of his friend.

Thomas Murray rose to his knees and grabbed hold of the cross. "Oh, Joey, I'm so sorry. Forgive me, it was an accident." He broke down and openly wept for the loss of his only son.

"Why did he think you were his son?" Buck asked quietly, still trying to figure this all out.

Kid shrugged as he kept his eyes on the old man. "Maybe I looked like him, was the right age or maybe he just blocked it out and tried to right a wrong by doing things over. We'll never know for sure and it doesn't really matter, does it? That's what matters - reality," Kid said, indicating the scene in front of him with a nod of his head.

Ever since finding the grave marking, Kid had been disturbed by how easily his own life could have turned out that way had his father not left when he did. The similarities were spooky; Murray’s words of apology brought back the spoken lies of his own father, always telling him it would never happen again, only to have Kid see those promises shattered as the elder man’s skin came in contact with his young son. Kid felt for the young man he had never met. He didn’t need to know the details of what had led to him being buried there; living the kind of childhood he had, he knew how possible it was.

"What do we do with him?" Charlie asked, speaking for the first time. He didn't want to intrude on the reunion of friends.

"Nothing," Kid told him quietly.

"Nothing?!" Charlie asked in shock. "Are you crazy? He held you against your will."

"He also saved my life. If he hadn't of taken that bullet out when he did ..." Kid paused as he fingered his wound, which had opened up once again. "Well, let's just say I wouldn't have been able to keep my promise to Lou about coming home to her." He turned to Buck as a thought caused him concern. "Buck, Murray said you guys thought I was dead, that's why you left the area. Where are the others, Jimmy, Sam? They didn't go back and tell Lou I was dead, did they?" Panic swept through him at the thought.

"Kid, take it easy," Buck cautioned. Kid looked as if he could collapse from exhaustion at any moment. "Murray wanted us to think you had left the valley - it's obvious now why he did it. But, Kid, you know us, there was no way we were about to give up on you. Jimmy didn't want to leave without you but when he found out Sam was bringing the prisoners to Rock Creek, well, it was better Lou learned the truth from Jimmy about what was going on."

"She's probably worried sick over this and that's not good for her or the baby," Kid said, more to himself than the others.

Buck saw the guilty look that flashed across Kid's face. "Kid, none of this was your fault and you know it. We couldn't keep this from Lou and Jimmy was the best one to tell her. 'Sides, you know her, she won't believe anything without proof."

Kid looked at his friend, realizing he was right. "Yeah, she definitely would have come riding out here herself if she was able to. I'll have to thank Jimmy - she probably had a few choice words to say to him that I'm sure weren't very lady-like." He smiled for the first time in days. "Well let's not waste anymore time then. I got a wife waiting for me."

Charlie hung back as Buck started to help Kid walk away. "I still don't like him getting away with all this," he mumbled.

Kid turned back and pointed to the disheveled man weeping at the foot of the cross. "I think that's punishment enough, don't you?" He didn't wait for an answer as he walked away from the nightmare.