Third part of the short story on how Eddie and Patch met. Someone's busted ;)

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Eddie had run nearly two miles outside of Redcliff by the time his sluggish brain remembered the fact that he had a quail back in town he should have ridden. The wagon ruts were easy enough to follow, and although Patch had several hours on him, he knew that the quail would need to rest during the hottest part of the day, and if he could catch up to them while they rested he could get his things back from the little scoundrel.

Running with a pounding head and no breakfast was a miserable way to start the day but by noon he had gotten some form of second wind as he followed the wagon ruts off the main patch down between the hills where a little stream wound out of sight behind a narrow strip of woodland. He could smell a campfire and spotted the wagon as he ran down the hill, gasping for breath as he finally came into view.

“Oi!” he yelled out breathlessly. “Patch! What the hell!?” he panted as he reached the side of the wagon.

Patch was standing in the shallows holding the halters of both king quail as he let them drink. He looked genuinely surprised to see Eddie as he tied the two halters together and waded back out of the water hesitantly.

“Eddie…? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Guns!” Eddie wheezed and sat down heavy in the dead grass, panting for air after having run for several hours in the hot sun. “Hat!” he flopped on his back and pointed at Patch accusingly. “You take!”

“Oh, those.” Patch seemed relieved and then shrugged. “Yeah they’re in the wagon.” He climbed up into the riding bench and fished around in the compartment behind him then jumped down and handed Eddie a canteen. “Did you run the whole way out here? Don’t you have a quail?”

Eddie groaned and drank half the canteen between breaths, clutching the stitch in his side. Finally he had enough wind back to talk normally. He scowled as Patch folded his arms and waited for him to get back to his feet patiently.

“You just took off like a thief in the night! I mean, you were a thief in the night!” Eddie stumbled upright and tossed the empty canteen back at him.

“Well, yes.” Patch admitted, catching it and screwing the cap back on. “I don’t know, I guess I didn’t think you’d miss them that much. I mean, how common are hats and guns out west?”

“Yeah, but these are mine.” Eddie frowned and held out a hand, beckoning with his fingers for Patch to return the stolen goods.

Patch sighed. “Very well.” He headed to the back of the wagon and started to look around until he found them and brought them out.

“Were ya always a lyin’ dirty thief or was I just the target for this town? Saints alive, that’s why you never stay in a place longer than a night! You’ve got to clear off before things go missin’ and folks start lookin’ yer way!” Eddie buckled his gun belt back on moodily and frowned as Patch laughed. He wasn’t frowning at Patch, he was frowning at that little flutter in his chest that bubbled up from his laughing. Stop it! He scolded himself.

“Well, for one thing I’m a very clean thief, but I never lied to you.” Patch pointed out. “Everything I told you last night was real. As for being a thief, sadly I have no defense against the truth. Everything in this wagon is stolen from one town or another. It’s how I’m able to afford to eat and get across the west with the birds. I never take anything important, just the extras.”

“Well, these guns are important to me, and my hat, they’re the only things of mine I’ve got. I’ve got no extras. Especially for you!” he pouted and turned away. “Leavin’ me in that stall with a sack of feed in my arms, what was that all about?”

“I’m sorry.” Patch walked over to be in his line of sight. “I really am. I never thought I’d see you again. I didn’t want to ruin the memory of a good night with… drawn out goodbyes or bitter words.”

“Nah, you just robbed me blind and left me in the dirt.” Eddie huffed. “I thought we had somethin’ nice.” his shoulders deflated.

“We did!” Patch pointed out. “But I was going to leave anyway. I figured… maybe it’d be for the best if I just broke it off there.”

Eddie didn’t know how to respond. He was getting dangerously close to getting mad. He didn’t want to be mad! Mad wasn’t any fun. Besides, now that he was here, he really wasn’t that upset with Patch. He had given him his things back after all.

“Are you angry?” Patch asked.

“Ugh… no.” Eddie admitted. “Honestly, ‘bit relieved. Wouldn't know what to do with a straight laced buck on me arm.” he grinned. “You’re nearly as shifty as I am, that helps matters.”

Patch smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were gonna shoot me when I saw you running down that hill, then I remembered I had your guns.” he smirked.

“Well that target on your face wouldn’t have done you many favors.” Eddie reached out and smoothed the fur on Patch’s cheek near the black spot that covered his eye. Patch’s hand rested over his and held it there a moment. There was a squawk and he turned away to go get the quail unstuck from the branch between them.

“So where are you off to in such a big hurry?” Eddie sat down on a rock as Patch untied the quail and led them back up the slope towards the wagon.
“The next town is Adler Bend.” Patch reached into his vest pocket and took out a battered looking paper map. “But it’ll take a few days.” he shrugged. “The wagon moves slowly in this heat.” He tied both birds loosely to a looping manzanita root and wandered back to the campfire to feed the flames. “I was thinking of staying the night here.”

“Why not stay back in Redcliff?” Eddie pointed out. “It’s only a few hours away, and you can drop me off so I’m not walkin’ back all on my lonesome.”

Patch shook his head as he set up an iron spit over the fire and hung a small cooking pot. “No, that place is done for me.” he sighed.

“Steal more than my guns back there, eh? Who else did you get?”

Patch gave the pot contents a stir. “Actually, nothing else, I was a bit ...distracted.” he met Eddie’s eyes and arched his brow. “It's been a long while since I ran into another ‘lumberjack’ out in these parts.”

“Well you’re not keen on stickin’ around long enough to root them out.” Eddie wandered over to peer into the pot. “Vegetables again? No wonder you’re such a wee bit of a thing. I’ll catch us a nice fish to go with that.” he offered.

Patch made a face and shook his head. “No thanks, feel free if you want to catch it for yourself, though.” he added.

“Suit yourself.” Eddie went to the back of the wagon and rooted around until he found a fine fishing pole with a fancy reel attached and headed to the stream to fish for the rest of the afternoon.


“You should stay the night.” Patch was saying as ladled more vegetable stew into Eddie’s bowl.

“Might as well, since you’re too much of a deviant to give me a ride home.” Eddie spoke around a scalding potato. “My brother’s are probably worried sick about me.” he added dramatically.

Patch smiled and set his bowl aside. “You’re lucky to have so much family in town. It must be nice.”

“I want to set them all on fire in alphabetical order on a daily basis.” Eddie snorted. “I love ‘em dearly, don’t get me wrong, but they’ve settled too easily into this new life of houses and jobs. I’ve just not been able to cut it. I think they think very little of me.”

“I doubt that’s true.” Patch assured him. “I saw how they teased, but they seem to care a lot for you.” Something sad flickered in his eyes for a moment but he smiled and it vanished. “I mean… it's not like you want to come with me. I think they’d miss you a lot.”

Eddie thought for a moment. The idea of leaving his gang brothers made the fur along his back bristle. He wasn’t ready to be alone, even if he was grown. Even if the gang was over, they were still the only family he had. He didn’t think he could ever leave them.

“Right.” he sighed. “I can’t leave them.” he took a swig from the bottle that Patch passed him. “And you won’t go back.”

“I can’t.” Patch shook his head and looked behind him, as if there was something waiting for him westward. “I have to keep moving. It's hard, but it's all I know anymore.”

“What are you runnin’ from? Law?” Eddie guessed.

Patch gave a noncommittal shrug. “Lots of things. It's why I try to enjoy folks when I’m there, then leave before I get attached.”

“Hmmf.” Eddie grunted. “Sounds like you’re just tryin’ to flirt your way across the frontier and leave a trail of broken hearts behind you. Theivin’ is one thing, but that… well, that is just gonna hurt people. How doesn’t it hurt you?”

Patch titled his ears back a little self consciously. “I try not to think about it too much. Besides, no one will get attached to me in a day. If I’m in and out of places and lives fast enough, they’ll forget me in a couple of weeks.”

Not true! Eddie wanted to counter, but the itchiness of the hay still stuck in his fur was driving him crazy. He made a face and bent his arms around trying to reach the spot.

“Damned hay stacks!” he grumbled.

“Hold on.” Patch went back to the wagon and returned with a little black box, he opened it to show a fur brush and a carved bone comb.

“Ehh…” Eddie made a face. “I don’t like gettin’ brushed. I've got curly fur, combs catch too easily. Folks’ve ripped out my fur in hanks before.”

“I’ll be careful.” Patch promised. “I’m just gonna get the hay out, I’ll go slow.” He patted Eddie’s shoulder to sit on the ground as he took his spot behind him on the rock.

Eddie shrugged out of his shirt and tensed up, waiting for the ripped tangles and yanks that usually came from whoever had the misfortune to try and groom his unruly fur. But, to his surprise, Patch was gentle. For the better part of an hour he meticulously worked; undoing tangles with precision, weeding out hay and straw flecks and once or twice trimming a rogue mat that just couldn’t be helped.

“All finished.” Patch smiled and combed his fingers down Eddie’s back with ease. “If you brush it yourself daily it should stay pretty neat.”

Eddie had been practically asleep as he worked and stretched luxuriously when he was finished. “I don’t think I’ve looked this good in years!” he declared.

“Glad you like it.” Patch yawned and cracked his back with a grimace. “I should get some rest, I didn’t get much sleep last night… and well, I left pretty early.”

“Where do you sleep?” Eddie squinted around in the fire light.

“Mostly in the wagon, but I’ll get us some bedrolls for around the fire though.” Patch returned with the blankets from the back of the wagon.

Eddie stretched his out on the ground, trying to decide if he should be on the opposite side of the campfire from Patch but to his delight, Patched set his up next to him and got inside the covers quickly.

“Yer gonna be here when I get up, right?” Eddie asked teasingly.

Patch didn’t answer right away. “I’ve got to get up pretty early.” he answered vaguely.

“At least say goodbye.” Eddie propped himself up on one elbow. “You owe me that much. ‘Can’t expect me to chase you all over the hills just for basic manners.”

Patch smiled weakly and turned on his back to rest. “I’ll say goodbye.” he promised with a yawn.

“I’ll hold you to it.” Eddie grinned and shimmied into his bedroll. He tried to stay up, but he was exhausted. Soon enough he fell asleep with the fire burning out into embers beside them.


–

Eddie woke up to the lurch of the wagon as it was pulling back out onto the main road. He yawned and sat up as he watched it pulling away into the early morning darkness. He threw back the bedroll and stood up. He was about to call out to Patch to stop but something held him back and he sat down on the rock instead and watched him ride off until he was out of sight. He sighed and hung his head, noticing for the first time in the new fire light that there was a little pile of packages next to him. Patch had left him a full cantine, filet and wrapped the fish he had caught the day before in sheets of old newspaper, left him a small sack of dried fruit and nuts, and on top of it all, the little black brush case.

Eddie picked up the case and opened it up to find a scrap of paper inside. He unfolded it with a sigh and read on, expected all manner of excuses but instead he smirked at the single sentence;

Better come find me again if you want your stuff back
-Patch


“Cheeky bastard.” Eddie snorted and immediately looked around for his hat and guns with a prickle of annoyance but he found them easily enough. He frowned. What had Patch taken from him? The eastern sky behind him had lit up a dull denim blue by the time Eddie realized the only thing missing on his person was the bandana around his neck. Patch must have slipped it off last night when he was brushing him. As far as the bandana went, it was nothing special. Roach had given him his guns and hat, those were irreplaceable. However, he was pretty sure he himself had stolen that bandana from some general store.

“So that’s how you like to play.” Eddie smirked, rolling up the bedroll and dousing the fire with the dented pail Patch had left behind. “Fine then, I’ll catch you in Adler Bend!” He rolled everything up into the bedroll and fashioned himself some makeshift pack straps and headed east back to Redcliff. If he was going to chase Patch around the whole territory, he might as well get his quail.