Chapter One

The drive had been long, too long. Twenty-nine hours if one doesn't stop; thirty-five hours if your brother has to pee every five miles. Add to that five hours due to a stop for maintenance to his '95 Ford F-150 that, like many models from '95, had frequent trouble with the fuel pressure regulator; or something of that nature. In addition his hand-me-down Ford was a sore sight and I was embarrassed to be seen in it; however, I was embarrassed mostly impart to the fact that it was a Ford. He, however, was quite fond of that Ford and had said, on several occasions, that my Chevy Silverado was too new; I was just glad that it wasn't a Ford.

I stared out the window, mesmerized by flat lands encased in a bowl of mountains. The true "wild" west of the United States, Wyoming, held little interest for me. There wasn't enough of anything except flat land and dirt; more than enough dirt. New York, has everything; people, buildings, stores, restaurants, Broadway, Matthew Tanniger. He held my heart, and I was torn at leaving him behind; if only for three days.

"I can't wait for you to meet her Ari. Aponi is the most wonderful, amazingly astounding person I have ever met. She is beautiful, she is. . ."

"Jonathon!" I laughed as I moved my hair from face do to the rolled down window, "You already told me all this."

He tightened his hands further on the steering wheel, white knuckles covering ten and two, "I know, I just," a small sigh escaped his lips, "I just want this to go well. I want the two of you, to be friends and for her to 'receive your blessing' or whatever. With Mom and Dad not being able to do that, I want you to."

My gaze returned to the open landscape out of my window. I returned to the one thing New York could not offer me, fresh air. The fresh air brought me back to a memory of a car ride, a car ride very similar to this one that changed my life and that of my brother, "I wouldn't ask for anything else Jonathon. This is something that I want you to do for me when the time comes." Three years of practice hid the tears and choked voice. The telephone wires received my attention for the next hour as we concluded our journey to Durant, Wyoming.

~*~*~*~*Henry*~*~*~*~

Henry sat in a chair at the bar of the Red Pony. The finest eating establishment one could go to in Durant, even if he was the only one who stated so consistently. Papers surrounded him as he overlooked different billing statements, food and alcohol. Prison had not been pleasant while he inhabited it, but he thought that he may take it, over sitting at the bar paying bills. He ran his fingers through his hair determining that it would soon be time for a hair cut, just as he heard another bottle break. He had managed to tune out the chaos behind him, a number of white men and Cheyenne, sat in chairs surrounding tables on the floor. But the one man who caught his attention was Jeremy White. A Baptist preacher that had no business being in a bar, had insulted another Cheyenne with his words.

"White Man! You need to leave me be! Your words mean nothing to me! My people are strong and your words of death and hell cannot harm us!"

"No mighty warrior, but God can! You and your people are going to burn in the fires of hell if you do not turn your back on your evil ways and REPENT! There is room for all in the flames and you and your redskin friends will be going first, for worshiping these false gods that do nothing but drive you further from our one true God!" Jeremy stood then on a chair and spoke to every man in the bar, "You all will be going to meet the devil in the coming days for associating with people who turn their back on our mighty God! He is a jealous God, an angry God! He does not accept any who turn their back on him!"

"Then why do you turn your back on His way of life?"

Henry looked over from the scene to see the one who spoke. She had long dark blonde hair in a braid coming down from her right shoulder. She was wearing knee-high dark brown boots, dark brown shorts, and a pepper colored over-sized sweater. Standing to her side was a tall man with brown hair. He wore black dress pants and a long sleeve blue button up shirt and black dress shoes.

Jeremy jumped down from his chair and stared the woman down, "You, accuse me, of turning my back on our Lord's teaching?"

She simply looked at him and nodded her head, her cropped bangs falling in her eyes.

"Do you not recognize that I am a preacher! A reverend! You cannot possibly accuse me of the same sin practiced by these mongrels!"

Henry felt his heart skip at what she said next. Without missing a beat she chimed, "The only mongrel that I see in here is the man who proclaims the word of God and yet he stands here screaming at people when he is doing wrong. These people are just that, people. They deserve to be treated as such, because they are God's children. And even though He is an angry God, He is a God of love that cares for us through everything we do. He, however, believes that we deserve the consequences of our actions, christian or otherwise. Jeremiah 31:34 '. . .No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'"

On the last word, all of which Henry noted were completely calm, the rest of the bar, white men and Cheyenne, erupted into an applause. She simply nodded her head turned to the man next to her, pointed to an empty table, and made her way towards it.

Jeremy turned red, the kind of red hat made mother's fear for their child's health. He picked up his coat and stormed from the building in a wild fashion. Henry recalled a herd of buffalo on stampede that moved gracefully than Jeremy when angry as he tripped over an out-pushed chair and fell to the ground. The crowd erupted with laughter and Jeremy stumbled then over his coat as he tried to stand. When Jeremy did not get up then, something strange happened. Something Henry did not understand. The woman who had just spent time debating with someone who seemed to follow the same religion as she, went to help him up.

Jeremy jerked his arm from her helpful hand once he stood and screamed, "I do not need your help!" He walked away and out the door.

Almost immediately the man who had entered with her was back at her side, "Man isn't that just like a Baptist preacher, he didn't even say good-bye."

She smacked him on the arm, "not all Baptist preachers are like that and you know it."

Henry watched as she moved back to the clear table and the man sat next to her. He studied the two, attempting to understand the nature of their relationship. She seemed relaxed near him but only enough to be comfortable with him. His actions suggested something similar, Henry then assumed they were brother and sister. He stood from his stool and began to gather his paperwork. He stacked it neatly and began to walk away when he heard his name.

"Henry," the gruff voice of his long time friend filled the air.

"Walt," He turned to his left towards the door to see his friend wearing that same brown coat, the same brown cowboy hat, same jeans, same boots, the only thing different was his shirt, "You are branching out, blue plaid?" Henry smiled as he turned and walked toward the office.

"I just saw Jeremy White running out of here. He stopped long enough to tell me that there was someone here that had thrown him down and I want to know who it was. I understand that he causes problems but you. . ."

"Walt, I want you to know that you should stop before you get too far ahead. He is lying to you. He was not thrown out he tripped over that chair." Henry pointed and Walt followed his gaze. There was an overturned chair on the floor four feet from the exit, "There is also a room full of people in there that would attest to the fact that he in fact threw himself out."

Walt studied Henry's face and then nodded, "I seem to get ahead of myself when you're involved Henry. Wanting to make sure my friend isn't being framed for anything."

"Because that is your major concern." Henry smirked and walked around his desk. Walt stood in the doorway. Placing the paper work on his desk and replacing his removed glasses, Henry moved to return to the bar. He began wiping down the counter and returning cups to their rightful places.

Walt pushed a little further, "So what happened, exactly? He go on another rampage and have a religious fight with another Cheyenne?"
"Actually the argument happened with me."

Henry looked up to see the woman yet again. She had removed her braid and her sweater, revealing a gray t-shirt. He looked at her eyes, more blue than he had ever seen, like the sea after a storm. Her hair was longer than he had expected and dark gold like the sun on an early morning. Her skin looked soft and smooth like sand during a soft rain.

"It is a beautiful day at the Red Pony, a continual soiree," He began his usual speech, "What can I do for you?"

He watched as she smiled a smile that took his breath away, "I would love a Dr. Pepper and a Root Beer."

"Coming right up."

He smiled a big smile as he turned to pull down the cups and begin fixing her drinks. However, it was quickly dismissed as he heard his friend begin his questioning.

"You said the fight happened between you and Jeremy?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind me asking what happened?"

"No, I don't mind. No trouble. My brother and I walked in about ten minutes ago, and when we did, we heard an awful amount of yelling. Come to find out it was the preacher, John White you said?"

"Jeremy."

"Gotcha, well he was screaming at people and saying they were going to hell for turning their backs on God. And even though I believe the same thing he does, it is not our place to condemn any act that a brother or sister in Christ may make. Even if our brothers and sisters are not living the life instructed in the bible. Our place is to help them and lead by example slowly but surely helping them through their lives hopefully, turning into the Christians they are meant to be."

By this time Henry had turned around and saw the look on Walt's face, confusion. Walt was taken completely aback and Henry found it funny, therefore he laughed.

"What?" Walt asked as Henry let loose the hearty laugh.

"You seem to be confused by someone who holds the same mind-set that you do." At that the woman turned to him and smiled.

"I get that a lot," She looked down at the bar and chuckled, "but its worth it."

Henry sat her drinks down on the bar and nodded his head. She went to pull out money to pay and he shook his head, "As long as I own the Red Pony, you will never pay a cent."

She stared at him in shock, "I can pay for it."
"I know you can," Henry smiled, "But you will never do so."

She smiled again and nodded her head, picking up her drinks and moving back to her table.

"You're already in deep." Walt's deep gravelly voice brought Henry's attention to his racing heart beat.

"You have no idea."