Lom returned home, and Heyes started to improve, slowly.

He kept to his word and began to take more care, and even made a concerted effort to eat more - and it was an effort. His appetite had always been small and the previous three years hadn't done anything to improve it.

As he gained more strength, Curry tried to find ways that Heyes could exercise without becoming too agitated. He convinced Heyes to walk around the ranch and made sure that the hands stayed back if they saw them. Gradually, Heyes began to feel safe on the property. There were even times when he felt comfortable enough to speak to Bill or Mickey, although he still had trouble talking to the other ranch hands.

Curry mailed Heyes' notes to Johnny Higgins, who had been delighted by the wealth of information contained in them, although as Curry had predicted, he was finding the handwriting hard to decipher.

They ended up in a correspondence which Curry had cheerfully passed over to Heyes. Speaking for his partner was one thing, but Heyes could write his own letters.

Heyes and Johnny wrote to each other for some time before Heyes eventually agreed that they could meet. Curry was delighted, although he tried not to show how much. He knew Heyes would hate it if he made a fuss.

The night before the appointed day, Heyes didn't sleep a wink. He'd moved into the guest bedroom, insisting that he would prefer the smaller room. He was telling the truth; though he didn't like to admit it, it felt more like his cell and he felt safer there because of it.

After a few hours of trying to pretend that he was going to fall asleep, he got up and made some coffee. Mindful of the Kid's words after the last time, he lit the stove and sat drinking coffee until the sun came up.

Curry walked into the kitchen, combing his hands through his hair and yawning. He stopped in surprise when he saw a bleary eyed Heyes sitting next to the stove.

"Hey, when did you get up?"

Heyes avoided a direct answer. "Couldn't sleep."

"Heyes!"

"I don't know! Sometime after midnight, I guess."

"Did you get any sleep at all?"

Curry pressed a hand to his partners forehead and Heyes pulled away, irritated.

"I'm fine."

"An' I'm making sure you are!" He examined his partner's face. "This because of your meetin' with Johnny?"

Heyes looked away and said nothing.

"It's not too late to cancel, Heyes. You just say the word and I'll speak to him instead."

"I can do this!"

"I know you can. But you don't have to if you don't want to. Don't have to prove anything to anyone, Heyes. If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to, okay?"

Heyes sighed. "Thanks. I can do it. It's just… I guess I'm a little nervous."

"I'll be with you the whole time. And anytime you need it to stop, you just say the word."

"Thanks, Kid. I'm sorry."

"'S okay. Want breakfast?"

Heyes felt green at the thought. "No."

"Have you eaten anything this morning?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Then let me put it another way - you're going to eat something this morning, do you have a preference about what you'd like?"

Heyes sighed. "Maybe some toast?"

Curry looked as if he was going to argue for a minute and then decided to leave it. He could see that Heyes was already feeling bad enough. "Toast it is."

They had just finished when they heard the sound of a horse approaching. Heyes paled and then turned a worrying shade of green.

"You alright?" Curry handed him a glass of water.

Heyes took it with a shaking hand and sipped it until his stomach started to settle.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready."

Heyes nodded. "It's okay."

Curry studied his face for a moment and went to greet their guest.

A few minutes later Curry walked into the kitchen with Johnny Higgins. Higgins looked very young to Heyes, and he felt like a fool for being so nervous about a boy. He rose and tentatively held out a shaky hand.

Curry had warned Higgins about Heyes' problems, so Johnny took the offered hand firmly in his and tried not to notice how much it shook.

"Thanks for seeing me, Mr. Heyes, and you too, Mr. Curry."

"Not a problem, Johnny. You can call me Jed, and everyone just calls him Heyes." He grinned at his partner, "or Whatisname."

Heyes smiled at the old joke.

Johnny flashed a quick glance and saw that it was a private joke between them. He grinned. "Okay, thanks. I think I'll probably stick with Heyes."

Eagerly, he pulled out a huge sheaf of papers and started riffling through them. "Okay, these are the pages I'm having a problem with."

He pushed over a stack and Heyes recognized some of the later ones that he had written. It looked as though his handwriting had deteriorated the longer he'd been writing and they were pretty hard to read. He looked up to see they were both staring at him expectantly.

Heyes pushed one of them over to Curry, who stared at it blankly for a few minutes.

"Sorry, Heyes. I'm not even sure it's English." He pointed to a point on the page, "Is that even a letter?"

Heyes pursed his lips together before realizing that, no, he wasn't sure what that was either. Maybe if it was in context… he went back to read the rest of it.

Johnny had reached the same conclusion. "I was thinking that maybe you could read it out to me and I could just copy it down that way."

Curry raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't write that fast."

Johnny grinned. "I can, just watch me!"

They both turned to look at Heyes, who swallowed. Reading the story aloud was far more speaking than he was prepared for, but it was easier than trying to have a conversation. Heyes saw the hopeful look in the Kid's eyes. Despite what he said, he'd love it if Heyes could do this.

Heyes sighed and picked up the first page. He took a sip of his water and kept his eyes on the page as he read out, "Kid Curry had been offered a job delivering a letter to an address in Mexico, an address that didn't seem to exist…"

As so often happened when he was reading, the outside world ceased to exist for Heyes. Soon, he was lost in telling the story, and Curry gaped in wonder at the difference. Except for an occasional cough, this was his friend - the loquacious Hannibal Heyes, as he used to be. There was no sign of the hesitant ex-convict in this confident man in front of them. He could have sat like that forever, listening to his friend regaling them with tales of their past. Curry felt a pang when he thought about how much he had missed this; how much he had longed to hear Heyes talk again, like he used to.

All too soon the story was finished and the spell was broken. Heyes put down the last sheet of paper and dropped his eyes to the table. There were a few moments of silence. Curry could have cried with frustration as he saw his friend return to his shell once again.

Johnny's voice broke into Curry's thoughts. "Thanks, that was great! Wow, you tell a good story!"

Heyes smiled nervously. "Thanks."

Curry stood up to get some coffee. "Yeah, that was great. Well, Johnny, did you get it all?"

He leaned forward and stared at the indecipherable squiggles that covered the small notebook Johnny was writing in. "And you said you couldn't read HIS writin'! What the heck is that?"

Heyes peered across the table and tried to make out what the boy had written.

Johnny grinned. "It's shorthand. It's a way of using symbols instead of words and phrases so you can write faster." He turned his notebook so they could see it better.

Curry handed him a coffee cup as he peered at the page. "You can read that?"

"Yeah!" Johnny read out a few sentences for them.

Heyes took the notebook and studied it, then handed it back.

Johnny turned to a blank page and picked up his pen again. "So, I just have a few more questions…"

If, after Heyes' impressive display of storytelling, the other two had hoped he would speak more freely, they were to be disappointed. He needed a lot of prompting when it came to answering the questions and his answers were stilted and short.

After about an hour, Heyes was beginning to feel exhausted and he started to rub at his temples as a headache began to form.

Curry stood up. "Well Johnny, I think that's enough for today."

Johnny shot a look at Heyes and nodded. "Sure, Mr. Curry. Jed," he corrected quickly. "Can I come back tomorrow? I still have some more questions."

Curry looked at Heyes, who nodded.

"Sure. You stayin' at the saloon?"

"Yeah. Oh, and Queenie asked me to send her love to you, Mr… er, I mean, Heyes."

Heyes smiled weakly and Curry led the boy from the room.

He returned alone a few minutes later. "Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, you can lie down for a few minutes."

"Kid, I'm fine."

Curry stood over him, mock challengingly. "We gonna fight about this?"

Heyes smiled as he shook his head. He pushed his chair back and swayed a little as he stood. Curry grabbed his arm and helped him to his room. Heyes removed his jacket while the Kid pulled off his partner's boots. Heyes closed his eyes as he lay back.

"You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah. It was just a lot, y'know?" His head was throbbing.

Curry watched him thoughtfully. "For a minute there… while you was readin'... you sounded just like your old self. It was nice, I've missed it."

Heyes opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "Felt like my old self for a while. Yeah, it did feel good."

"Maybe it's not buried so deep after all. Maybe one of these days you'll be back to your old self."

Heyes bit his lip on his reply. As far as he recalled, his old self didn't have to lie down after talking to to a boy for an hour.

"Yeah, maybe," he said doubtfully.

Curry squeezed his shoulder. "And if you don't, that's fine too. We're doin' just fine the way things are. Get some rest, I'll call you for lunch."

Heyes did start to feel more comfortable around Johnny Higgins.

Curry was learning that if he introduced people slowly, Heyes would start to get used to them. He was getting to the stage where he could greet the ranchhands - if there weren't too many of them - and could even speak to a couple of them. But he was still very withdrawn and quiet, and showed no inclination to leave the safety of the ranch. He was happy to spend most of the day inside, working on the ranch accounts and correcting proofs of the book they were writing with Johnny.

Five months after Heyes' release, Jed decided to take a risk and try something new.

One morning, while Heyes was taking a walk, Curry packed up their saddlebags and saddled two horses. When Heyes returned he saw the two horses and cast a quizzical glance at his cousin.

"What's going on?"

Kid smiled. "Climb on, we're goin' for a ride."

Heyes smiled. "Alright."

He still loved riding and, once he felt better, he and the Kid had ridden around the ranch a few times. Sometimes it was painful, but it was worth it.

Curry took the cane from Heyes and hooked it onto the saddle. As Heyes got into position, Curry helped him to mount; due to the injury to his leg, it was impossible to jump on like he used to. Curry quickly mounted and led the way.

Heyes wasn't paying attention at first, enjoying the ride. The sun was shining and he couldn't imagine a more beautiful day.

They headed out to the farthest fence and Heyes noticed the large gate was open. Curry clicked his heels and moved his horse forward, then turned and waited for Heyes.

Heyes blanched and looked nervously around him. "I don't know… I'm not sure…"

"You can do it, Heyes. I'm gonna be right next to you the whole time, okay?"

Heyes still looked uncertain, but he would trust the Kid. Curry kept the pace slow and stayed glued to Heyes' side, carefully watching his cousin to make sure that he wasn't too nervous or in any discomfort. He kept up a steady stream of conversation and before long, Heyes started to relax.

After a while, Heyes realized how long they'd been riding for. The light was starting to change and the air was getting cooler.

He felt a sudden stab of panic and turned to his partner. "Kid, we've been out too long, we need to get back."

Curry pulled his horse closer and smiled encouragement. "It's okay, I've packed our things. We're goin' to spend the night out here."

Heyes pulled his horse up short and went white. "Kid!"

"It's alright. Trust me?"

Heyes looked at him in anguish. Of course he trusted him, but still… "I… I…"

"It's okay, Heyes. You'll be safe. I won't let anything happen."

Heyes nodded, but didn't look convinced. He knew the Kid wouldn't force him to do it if he really wanted to go back, just as he wouldn't have forced him to ride on if he really hadn't wanted to. Heyes looked after the Kid and the Kid looked after Heyes. It was what they did.

Heyes realized that a big part of him didn't want to ask to go back. He wanted to see if he could do this.

After a few more minutes of riding, Kid pulled up his horse. "This is the spot. Isn't it pretty?"

Heyes looked around nervously. It was a beautiful spot. The mountains were behind them and a small creek ran nearby. The ground was dotted with Indian paintbrushes and columbines, and he could hear the whirr of hummingbirds as they flew overhead. He spotted a bluebird flying past, the color seeming unnaturally bright.

Curry dismounted and was waiting to help Heyes off his horse.

Despite the tranquility of the area, Heyes was shaking as his partner helped him down and handed him his cane.

Curry led him over to a large boulder. "Sit here while I set up camp. You doin' okay?"

Heyes looked stricken but he nodded. Curry accepted the nod and proceeded to roll out their bedrolls and start a fire.

He picked up a small pot and handed it to Heyes. "Could you go and get us some water?"

Heyes took the pot with a shaking hand and walked unsteadily towards the stream. Curry bit his lip for a moment, suddenly realizing that it might be more than nerves; Heyes might be feeling the effects of riding for so long. As the fire caught, he walked over as his cousin eased himself down to the water.

"Sorry, I forgot you might feel a little sore. Here, let me do that."

"No, I've got it."

Heyes was sore, but he had to admit, it was a beautiful spot. The water was cool after the heat of the day and it felt good as it ran against his hand. He handed the pot to the Kid, and then leaned over and splashed some of the water on his face. The Kid did the same.

"I thought it would be nice to spend some time outdoors, just the two of us, like it used to be. I've missed it."

Heyes nodded in agreement, but Curry could see that he was still worried.

"It's okay, it's a quiet spot. I've never seen anyone else here." Seeing Heyes' look, he explained, "I used to come here sometimes, just to get away. It's a good place to come to think about things."

"When you were with Mary?"

"Yeah." His voice was low.

"Were things that bad?"

Curry nodded. "Yeah, they were. Lom got mad at me once for sayin' that bein' married to Mary was like bein' in prison, but it was. I thought it was goin' to be like that forever. Sometimes I just had to escape for a while."

He suddenly realized what he was saying. "I'm sorry, Heyes. Lom's right, it was nothin' compared to what you were going through."

To his surprise, Heyes shook his head. "Once I'd got used to it, it wasn't that terrible. At first it was hard; all the beatings and the other stuff… that was bad. There were times when it seemed like everybody was just trying to kill me. But once I adjusted… well…" He looked reflective for a moment. "As crazy as it sounds, once I could avoid the others, I was alright. I liked the work and I was used to everything by then. In a strange way, I think I was almost happy. When I first got out, I was so scared by everything, I actually missed it."

Curry looked at him in shock.

"I'd learned how to keep myself safe there and I'd got used to being by myself. When I got out, everything was different again. Almost the first thing that happened was a complete stranger threatened us with a gun. Could you blame me for not thinking it was an improvement?"

"I guess not. Do you still feel like that?"

Heyes looked up at the clear sky and the birds whirling overhead. "No. I never thought I'd have this again. You're right, it's beautiful." He sighed and looked down at the stream again. "But I still don't feel safe. I'm always waiting for the next thing to happen."

Curry put an arm around his cousin. "Maybe the next thing is a good thing?"

Heyes smiled back at him. "Maybe."

"You don't believe it though?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. Maybe one day."

That night Kid Curry stayed awake and sat beside his friend and partner as he tried to sleep, jumping at every sound. Each time, the Kid would put his hand out to him and tell him it was okay.

There was no maybe for him; he knew the day would come when Hannibal Heyes would be his old self again.

Until then, he would watch over him and keep him safe.

They had all the time in the world.