Kid sat on the fence surrounding the small cabin he and Heyes owned and stared out at the large moon with a dejected sigh, the words of the latest girl who'd left him, running through his head.
“You're a sweet man Jed, but I don't want to live in constant fear of being left a widow. I know you're fast enough to win now, but there's going to come a time when you won't be. So I'm sorry, I won't be seeing you again.”
Emily had tried to soften the blow with a goodbye kiss, but that had only made it worse. She was the third girl who'd been scared away in the past year since he and Heyes had received their amnesty, by witnessing the cold reality of what his reputation brought with it: Some joker calling him out, just because he was Kid Curry and they fancied themselves a fast gun and wanted to prove it.
He turned when he heard footsteps behind him, recognising them as Heyes, who looked at him in some sympathy even as he said. “You're making that moon blue with all your moping and sighing.”
The Kid didn't reply but merely continued to stare out at the starlit sky, thinking almost wistfully of the days when they'd been Thaddeus Jones and Joshua Smith and he'd been free from the reputation that he was simultaneously proud of and dogged by. But Heyes obviously following his train of thought, chuckled and came up to stand directly behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently as he said laughingly. “Oh come on Kid, you can't be hankering after our Smith and Jones days already, how many times did you complain that we were broke, always running and how tired you were? Not to mention all those jobs hard on the back we were forced into taking.”
The Kid laughed and shook his head, suddenly amused at how quickly he'd started to remember those tough exhausting days with rose tinted nostalgia. Heyes was right, they'd never been able to settle. And no matter how much he might have wanted to, there had been no way he'd could have started a life with any girl while they were still wanted. He still occasionally wondered how things might have worked out with Michelle, had he been free to court her. Not to mention the posses, the bounty hunters, the times they'd had to get themselves out of bind just because some idiot had decided to blame Heyes and Curry for their own dishonesty. No their life was much much better now, all he needed was to convince a girl that he was worth the risk, and then it'd be just perfect. He fervently hoped it wouldn't take a genuine blue moon for that to happen.
With a final glance up at the moon, making sure Heyes couldn't see him, a little embarrassed by his fancy, he made his wish, then slipped off the fence to stand on the slightly damp grass, before turning to face Heyes, when after a brief exchange of looks, they walked side by side back towards their cozy home.
Home 
