Heart Strings, Heart of Gold #4

[Will Petros]

"I told you I was gonna use you, Will. I was right. I did. As an excuse to stay."

Will cackled deliriously at the comment, still addled from the attack. "Glad to be of help, darlin'!"

Used me. Rutt, I used her, too. Hardly seems a thing to hold a grudge over. He pulled down on Vittie's hand in a futile attempt to get up, but his muscles refused to co-operate. A burst of vertigo forced him back down again.

"I-I'm alright, though," he laughed to disguise the tremble in his voice. "Toldja I wasn't no prairie flower. Little thing like this can't keep me down." He looked up at Vittie. "Help me up, gorramit." It was the last he would likely see of the woman, and he didn't want it to be on his back.

Struggling to his feet, a wave of nausea swept over him, but he held it back. Vittie was stronger than she looked. Leaning against the blonde woman, he looked at Chari, his face a mixture of confusion, disgust, and pain. He wasn't sure if he was going to start crying or throw up. And if he did start crying, he wouldn't know the reason for it.

"Can't rightly give me credit for your stayin', though. We both know there was no ways you was leavin' unannounced." He started to feel strength returning to his limbs, and some steel crept back into his voice. He looked at her evenly, pushing away all prior thoughts of the woman. He'd been a gorram fool. He realized it now.

"Problem is, you still want to stay," he said, his voice without a trace of emotion save for a twinge of pity. He'd be rid of it soon enough. "And you're all out of excuses now."

[OCC: Slight moddage of Vittie. If it's not okay, Tao, lemme know.]

[Dusty]

"She can want all she wants." Dusty smiled grimly at the youthful Will. He hadn't really gotten know the new hand all that well. Yet. But he was glad to see him up on his feet, even if looking a little shakey.

With a little more force than strictly necessary, he turned Chari towards the parking lot, and the wagon that had been hitched up waiting for the newlyweds. Rae-Lee and Danny had fled quietly, taking Danny's father's car- no rice and flower tossing for the bride. In the wake of tragedy, they had felt it best to let the days memories speak for themselves.

Just as he settled into the seat, still streaming with yellow ribbons, the posse returned, slow and sluggish, weary as though the days events had weighted them with impossible weight.

Reining in the team of black Andalucias borrowed from Harlen Brayer over at Chatter Creek Horse Ranch, Dusty waited until Baxter rode up alongside.

Behind him on Petaline's mare, tied hand and leg, with both knees bound up in strips of what appeard to be Baxter's fine black Sunday suit jacket, hung The Rustler.

Without much ado, Baxter rode up alongside the wagon, dismounted and tossed the Rustler in the back at Chari's feet where he landed with a pained groan. Meeting Chari's gaze for an instant, Reverend Barton smiled calmly, "Well, the Jezebel and the Killer workin' together. Why am I not surprised?"

Remounting, he rode up ahead and gave Dusty a wave, "Let's get these whooyas to the Sheriff. McCade? Feed my horse and tell Petaline I'll have her mare back in the mornin'."

"HIya! Move on!" Dusty called to the team, and the wagon rolled out, the Reverend riding alongside, late evening dust splitting out their trail, yellow ribbons waving in their wake.

[Petaline]

Burgesstown was ten miles behind them. The doctor was still forty miles ahead, in Los Alamos. Tessa had that old truck that McCade gave them floored, driving like a Paris-Dakkar Rally driver of the old Earth That was days, but it wasn't enough to outrun time, to outrun the darkness that had seemed to chase Petaline through all of her days.

"Stop, Tess." Petaline whispered, her bloodied cheek pressed to Jonah's chest, listening. Then with more force, "Tessa.. Stop the truck, darlin'."

One bloodied hand clenched Eunae's wrist, careful of her broken fingers, and tear filled eyes met Tess's as the wheels ground to a stop on cold gravel, "Take us on back to Burgesstown."

---------
SUNSET:

The truck rolled into the flat dirt lot of the Heart of Gold, grinding to a halt. From the back, Tessa and Petaline silently lifted out the tiny wooden casket and settled it on the porch.

With trembling hands, Petaline touched the seals before falling to her knees beside it. Helpless sobs wracked her body, but tears seemed to withhold their solace. What God takes babies away from their Mamas?

She was aware of the others gathering, but she couldn't face them... couldn't bear their grief along with her own. A dark well seemed to have swallowed her, and from the bottom she couldn't hear their voices, or see their faces. The love of her family couldn't touch her now.

Finally, she pushed to her feet, the blood-stains on her skirt leaving muddied brown marks where her knees had pressed to the wood. Her own voice seemed far and distant, echoing up from that deep deep hole of loss as she spoke, "Ask the men to dig a grave out by the willow, Tess. We'll do it in the mornin'. Sunrise. I ... can't face it now. Not now."

Jordan and Jasmina guided Petaline inside, surrounding her with love, with platitudes, with comforts that she could ill accept. Someone... Jacky-boy? pressed a glass of whiskey into her hand and she downed it as she crossed the Comfort Room and headed for the back door.

Somehow she responded to all their words with numb, cold answers, bitter single syllables burned through frozen vocal cords. 'Yes. No. Thank you. Not now. I'm alright.'


"I just... need to be alone." Petaline finally broke away from the caring keepers who surrounded her and stumbled back to her cottage. Comforted in blessed silence.

In Jonah's room, she curled up on his small bed, and pressed his pillow to her face, breathing in his scent.

Finally, alone and safe, she let it all go. Just let it all go, and although tears, finally set free, streamed wild and free down her face, the pillow barely muffled the sound of her laughter.

[Rae-Lee]

2.28 SECTARES FROM JINYE:

Danny and Rae-Lee finally closed the door on the small transport ship that carried them away from Jinye. Danny pulled Rae in for a close warm kiss, then smiled down at her before glancing to their bed, "Not exactly how I pictured our honeymoon, tell the truth."

Rae returned his kiss with fervor, and then drew away, "Me either. Promise I'll make it up to ya later."

The groom shook his head, his eyes carrying every bit of the sincerity of his wedding vows, "Nothin' to make up. Heart of Gold's my family, too, Rae rae, and this is more important than any weddin' day. Hell, we can make that up any time."

Together, the newlyweds locked in warm embrace, looking down at the bunk in the center of which slept a little tow-headed boy, safe and warm.

And completely unharmed.

Rae had managed to wash away all the pigs blood from the packets that Petaline had tucked into his little suit and into her own skirt to be broken when she covered him with her own body after the gunfire.

Dressed in his usual t-shirt and blue overalls, his sweet round little face still slack from the drugged cookie that Eunae had given him, Jonah looked for all the 'verse like a little napping cherub.

Danny bent down and, with work roughened hands, yet tender as a yellow spring daffodil, pulled the blanket up to Jonah's chin, pausing to ruffle his hair. Opening his travel case, Danny recovered Jonah's favorite toy truck and tucked it beside his pillow so he'd have something familiar at hand when he woke.

"It's a peach of a plan Petaline and that Mackellroy come up with. So long as the Widow thinks he's dead..." Rae sighed, "The second she's sure, she'll file to have Rance declared legally dead. Shouldn't be more than a couple weeks, and by that time, we'll already be on our way back."

The bride grinned up at her husband, "I can't wait to see the look on that snake's face. Gonna make it all worth it."

Danny shrugged, "I just hope they don't hang Todd for murder before we get back!"

The Black of space surrounded the little ship, carrying the heir of the Burgess fortune further and further from Jinye... and further and further from the wicked reach of the Widow's web.