Feelings...Jess ran this word through his mind, as he leaned his head back and ran his fingers through his hair, he stretched out again as he had before. Good feelings, bad feelings, and gut feelings. Gut feelings, yep, gut feelings. That good ol’ “gut feeling”. He told Francie, from a gut feeling, that nothing was going to happen until they had a chance for that nice long talk. He had been right, the Keefers were finished in Ben’s life and hers. He chuckled to himself, no wonder she wanted to use that idea of her husband being dead. She used it for herself and it worked. She had wanted desperately for it to work for Ben. But then, no one was looking for proof of her death. Gil didn’t want to check it out, he wanted freedom from the army in Canada, and… and me?... And me, he thought, her own brother...I just accepted it. Why?...He knew very well, circumstances were different with a gunman like McKittrick. The Keefers had reason to suspect and search...and me?...why would I have dared to hope.
The moon now had moved up over the house, the yard was fully lit. Jess could now see clearly in the dark. Yep...he thought about it again...it took Francie herself, a shadow from the past turning up as a candle, shedding the light he needed. It was clear now...yeah...like the moon made the yard clear to him. Jess had that gut feeling again just now. He knew he would see her again. He knew she had a chance for happiness and a home now, and he did too, with Slim, here. Home, a place to feel special friendships ...family...that bond that sometimes has no words to describe the powerful pull of it. Yeah, he really needed this night to himself. It felt good, so good. Ol’ Slim must have had a gut feeling about tonight too!
Just as the breeze picked up ever so slightly, and played with his hair, Jess knew something else...he had that gut feeling again...and sure enough...he was right. HIS COFFEE WAS COLD, and so was the night air. He called out to the horses, “Hey, I’m getting cold, now what am I gonna do with a cup of cold coffee?” The horses snorted back some kind of an unexplainable answer, which basically amounted to the fact that they were ignoring him. Aw, no matter, he smiled...Francie was warm in his heart.
He got up to stretch, folded his arms and began to rub them to keep warm as he stepped down into the yard. He walked away from the house, away from the full moon and gazed up into the heavens...more stars than he could number...many things I have come through he thought, more than I can number. He came back towards the porch and enjoyed the bright full moon in the crisp sky, took a deep breath of night air, stepped up on the wooden porch as he had earlier. Listening to his own boot steps on the wood, Jess went in to sleep. Morning would come with a nice warm new sunrise…and warm coffee.
