Chapter 2
The next morning Jimmy was up at dawn. He knew Kid was going on a ride so he had to try to talk to him, one more time. Jimmy was glad Cody had left for his ride right after supper, he didn't need his big mouth and ears around at a time like this. Everybody was sleeping except the two riders sitting on their bunks. Jimmy carefully watching a silent Kid get ready for his ride.
"Kid?" Jimmy tried in a vane hope to get an answer out of him.
Kid just have him a quick glance but said nothing.
"You're really gettin' on my nerves here" Jimmy continued, feeling the blood rush trough his veins. Remembering the evening and Kid's antics, he wanted to kick him hard, more for Lou's sake than anything else. Kid saw the anger in Jimmy's eyes, but the just didn't care about anything anymore. After what Lou had told him that evening he just didn't care about anything Jimmy would have to say to him.
"Kid, I'm talkin to ya!"
This is getting annoying, Kid thought to himself. Jimmy was waking up the whole bunkhouse.
"What!" Kid voice rang as a shot. Jimmy almost fell from his bunk. The first word this one had said to him in over a week! Maybe this was his chance to get trough to his bullheaded friend.
"I'm askin' you if you ain't forgettin' about somebody?" Jimmy looked over at Lou's bunk. The tiny rider looking back at him with tired and scared eyes.
Kid kept staring at him and that made Jimmy uneasy. "'Bout last night I mean." Jimmy was trying to explain Lou's distress over the previous night's events without putting it into words. Earlier Kid and him had a kind of understanding that needed no words. It seemed to have disappeared.
"Am I on your territory?" Kid's voice was filled with tamed anger. Jimmy recognized the tone of voice and knew it wouldn't need much to explode into full rage. He would almost welcome a fist fight. Anything would be better than this silence.
"At least you're not on yours" Jimmy began but let his voice trail off as he saw Lou's warning glances.
For the first time in ages Kid's eyes followed Jimmy's and went over to Lou's. "Seems I never had the right to claim any stakes" he said his eyes not leaving Lou's. Lou had to look away, feeling the tears moisten her eyes. Kid's eyes went back to Jimmy's, "an' you outta know why by now!" Kid's voice sounded almost normal and Lou dared look at him again. But he just turned and opened the bunkhouse door and stepped out.
Jimmy watched the closed door for a moment. Then he turned to Lou. "The barn, now!"
Kid had to take a hold of Katy's mane and breathe in when he got out to his mare's stall. This act he'd been putting up was killing him. Just looking at Lou made his knees tremble, he hadn't dared to in such a long time. "Girl, you don't know what I'm going throu'" he complained to Katy that whinnied softly at her owner's distress."Hope Teaspoon forwarded my request of changin' home station" he continued to the horse. Katy was the one he had been talking to all this time. "It's gonna kill me, but it has to be done". Katy rubbed her head against her owners shoulder. Kid stroke his mare's mane "At least you like me girl!"
His thoughts went back to the last conversation, or fight, he had with Lou. The fight that made him see where her heart really belonged. She had actually called him a substitute for another man, Jimmy. Remembering her words he shrugged, how had he let himself be fooled for so long? He had seen the signs. Hell, they had been there right before his eyes. But he hadn't bothered to look. He was not going to fall for anybody anymore. His feelings for Lou prevented that, he knew as much. But his pride prevented him from being a substitute. He was not going to show his feelings to anybody again. And he was working hard on not feeling them either. "What I don't understand, Katy, is why I still love her!"
Jimmy dragged Lou out to the barn as soon as Kid had left. It was cold and snowing outside. Jimmy walked with determined steps towards the barn and the haybale on which they had all their endless discussions about the Kid. He was getting sick of it all. Lou not telling him all and Kid talking in riddles.
"Lou, now you're gonna tell me exactly what happened that night. And why Kid seems to have some crazy ideas?"
"Jimmy, you don't understand..."
"You're damned right, I don't. Unless somebody tells me what's going on. And what I'm doing in the middle of it?"
Lou twisted a straw if hay in her hands. She was unsure of how to put this. The night she blabbered out the things to Kid was one she'd just as soon forget. She had hurt him on purpose and she knew it. What she didn't know what how to make things right again. She never intended to say those things to the Kid, and telling Jimmy about it would only get things worse.
"Lou...?"
"Remember the day I came back from Blue Creek, half a day too late."
"The day Lightning dropped a shoe?"
Lou nodded in affirmation. "See, the day started bad already. Not that I'm makin' any excuses but it started bad and when I went to Thompkin's store to pick up that wheat Rachel ordered I saw Kid talking to the Nelson girl, again."
Jimmy stifled a soft laughter. Was this all? The jealous streak in Lou had awakened and caused all this? "Jealous, huh?"
"Don't laugh Jimmy. It get's worse."
"I don't understand how you being a tad jealous caused all this?"
"Well that night we got into a fight and I pretty much accused him of not being man enough for me." Lou was looking intensely at the ground. Afraid how Jimmy would react to her story.
"I seem to recall that happenin' before without starting a war?"
"Well here's where it gets ugly. I was mad at the world and took it out on him. I hinted to him, or more or less told him that you were the real love of my life."
"What?"
"I told you it was ugly. I was jealous, I can see that now, but not then, and I had to hurt him to make him feel my hurt. So I told him he was a substitute for you, more or less. And me being with him was just fooling around with him ..."
"You really know how to hurt a man, don't you."
"As soon as I'd said it I regretted the whole discussion. I was so shocked over what I was doin' to him, I just walked out on him."
"Not a good move."
"I see that now!" Lou had put her face in her hands. "Oh Jimmy. I took him for granted and now I've lost him an'... it's... it's the worst thing that's..." Lou couldn't find the words. Sobbing she wiped the tears off her face. Tears she hadn't realized she was shedding.
"Worst thing is that I told him everybody knew except him and everybody was laughing at him!"
"God Lou! What was goin' on with you?" Jimmy slowly started to understand Kid's reaction. If somebody he loved had said a thing like this to him, he would have gone crazy too. And knowing the pride in Kid made Jimmy marvel at the fact he hadn't exploded yet. If he had, this would have been over by now. He also realized that if he had been in Kid's place, he'd left the station ages ago.
"The thing with you two is that you're both too proud for your own good. No, don't interrupt me Lou. You couldn't just admit to the Kid, or even to yourself, you were just bein' jealous. And he can't admit to himself he overreacted. Which is exactly what he did. I'm sure he can see it by now. But admittin' to it? No, not the Kid. It's like when you two see a fire you don't run for water. No, you stick dynamite into it. With you two it's like puttin' out fire with fire. When you should run for ice to cool yourselves instead."
They found Rachel and Natalie in the bunkhouse when they stepped in. Natalie was helping Rachel but the breakfast onto the table. Rachel was putting more logs into the fireplace."Kid's already gone?" she asked when Jimmy and Lou stepped in.
Teaspoon followed right behind them "Mornin' all!" Scanning the room he noticed Kid was already gone "Darn, I see I missed him"
"Missed who?" Rachel raised her eyebrows at Teaspoons remark.
"Kid's request for changing homestations's been approved and I was thinkin' of sending him with Natalie the day after tomorrow, seein' as she needs to get to to her father's and the stagecoach's not comin' for another week. And since where she's goin' seems to be on the way to Kid's new homestation, Ash Point, I thought..." he stopped as Lou rushed out past him.
"She didn't know?"
"Everybody's at a loss right now" Rachel had to sit down, "What'ya mean Teaspoon, Kid's request for what? Ash Point?"
Teaspoon looked surprised "He told me he'd talked it over with y'all."
"Talked to us about what?" Jimmy had already figured out what was going on, but he had to make sure.
"He's swopping places with Jeremy at Ash Point" Teaspoon started to realize his initial doubts about the Kid and his reasons for leaving were right. "Seems he wants a change of scenery real bad ...."
"And you just granted the swop like that" Jimmy growled at Teaspoon, flicking his fingers.
"Hold on, son! Me and the Kid talked about this for days. He wasn't to be persuaded. He said he'd leave otherwise." Teaspoon remembered the Kid's stubbornness. "There was no way of talkin' him out of it. It's Kid, we're talkin' about, you outta know! Furthermore, Kid's always done what I've asked of him, he was askin' one thing from me now, I couldn't deny it now, could I?"
"He just don't know what he's doin' right now!" Jimmy lashed out at Teaspoon, angry that the man hadn't stopped the Kid.
"Care to elaborate, son?" Teaspoon crossed his arm over his chest, leaning back on his chair, waiting to hear what was going on in the bunkhouse.
"He's not thinkin' straight, that's all!"
"And why is that Jimmy?"
Teaspoon question put Jimmy in a hot spot. He wanted to tell them all about the misunderstanding, but doing so he would betray his best friends, both of them. He was still in the middle of it all. And he couldn't do anything about it. He threw a glance at Teaspoon and decided to get out of the bunkhouse.
Teaspoon narrowed his eyes at Jimmy as he slammed the door behind him. Teaspoon turned to Rachel with a inquiring look. She looked straight back at him, just as bewildered. Natalie watched the happenings with wide eyes.
Rachel couldn't believe her ears. One of her family was leaving. Without any explanation. When the Kid gets back tomorrow morning, he sure is goin' to explain it to me, Rachel thought bitterly. What was happening around this place?
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|Chapter 1||Chapter 2||Chapter 3||Chapter 4||Chapter 5||Chapter 6|
|Chapter 7||Chapter 8| |Chapter 9||Chapter 10||Chapter 11| |Chapter 12|
|Chapter 13||Chapter 14||Chapter 15| |Chapter 16||Chapter 17||Chapter 18|
|Chapter 19||Chapter 20|
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