The express posse halted their horses suddenly on the outskirts of Rock Creek. Something was terribly wrong. How the woman could have ridden away that fast was unbelievable. Lightning was fast, but he wasn’t that fast!
“Something’s not right,” Buck informed his friends. “She can’t have that much of a lead on us.”
“So then where is she?” Cody asked. “This is the direction she headed.”
Buck just shrugged his shoulders. “We would have caught up with her by now.”
“Maybe she never left town?” Jimmy suggested suddenly. Buck had made a good point. If she had gone this way, they would have caught up with her for sure.
“We’d better hurry,” Cody stated as they turned their mounts around. “She ain’t going to wait around for us.” Quickly the riders galloped back to town. They were starting to grow tired of the troublesome lady’s stunts.
“Let’s rest for a while,” Bryce suggested. They had been riding for quite a while now, and he was ready for a break. “Hungry?”
“A little,” Lou lied. In reality, she was starving! At that particular moment, Lou missed Rachel’s cooking as much as Cody always did. In fact, right now Lou could probably out eat her co-worker.
“Well,” Bryce said. “After I get a fire going, I’ll do a little hunting.”
“I can start the fire,” Louise volunteered eagerly. “You go hunt.” Quickly she slide off the back of his horse.
“Just a little hungry?” Bryce questioned teasingly. The lady’s actions hinted towards starvation.
“Maybe a bit more,” she admitted finally.
“I’ll be back shortly,” Bryce informed her as he rode off to find an area thick in game.
As she watched him leave to find food, Louise couldn’t help but think how adorable he was. He was sweet and charming, just like his brother. “What ever had caused Ethan to leave this morning must be very important,” Lou thought to herself. She didn’t see Ethan as the type to normally depart without saying farewell.
More than an hour passed, and Lou’s only companion was the fire she had built. Bryce had been gone too long, and Lou was beginning to wonder just how far away he went. Surely there was suitable game within a half mile of here. Something must have happened. The sound of horse hooves brought her comfort.
“Finally,” Lou cried as she spun around to greet him. “Ethan?”
“Yes,” he replied with a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“I thought you had business to take care of?”
“What? Oh, yeah.... that can wait,” he stated. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Lou answered. Suddenly she remembered about Bryce’s long absence. “Your brother is missing.”
“Missing?” Ethan questioned.
“Yes. He rode off to find game and...”
“That low down snake!” Ethan exclaimed heatedly. “I can’t believe he would do that to you.”
“Do what?” She was completely confused by his sudden anger.
“Bryce always says he’s going to find game when he wants to sneak off,” he explained. “Ask anyone who’s ever traveled with him.”
“What? You mean he left me here?!” Lou cried in disbelief.
“I’m afraid so,” Ethan said. “Let me apologize for my brother’s actions.”
“I can’t believe him!” Lou was furious. How could he just leave her there! And she thought he was sweet!
“I had a bad feeling, that’s why I came back,” Ethan informed her.
“I’m sure glad you did,” she said gratefully. His news caused her to lose her appetite. “Well, let’s get going.” After smothering the fire with dirt, Louise climbed on the back of Ethan’s horse. Her anger grew every time she thought of Bryce abandoning her.
Less than a mile away, Bryce was searching for his missing horse. His brother had been kind enough to pay him a visit, but forgot to say hello. Instead, his brother had removed his riding tack and encouraged his appaloosa to run free. “Very clever, Ethan!” Bryce hollered. It was Ethan’s handwork, that was certain. His brother had left his trick coin on the saddle to symbolize his handy work.
“Whoa boy,” Bryce said gently when he finally found his mount. “Easy there.” The horse allowed his owner to approach him, and Bryce wasted no time slipping the bridle on. Once he saddled his mount, he took off after his brother. This game of their’s was getting more and more challenging, and Bryce loved a challenge. “We’ll see who gets the lady home,” Bryce exclaimed. This was one game he planned on winning!
After inquiring around town, the riders finally got a lead on their mystery rider. It seems the blacksmith saw her leave town towards the south. Jimmy and Buck immediately ventured after her, but Cody was selected to inform the others about Lou’s disappearance. If Kid was back from his run, Cody would have a difficult time keeping him calm.
Once Cody arrived at the station, he tied his horse outside the bunk house. He noticed Ike preparing for his ride which meant Kid wasn’t back yet. Talk about luck. As Cody entered the bunk house, he found Noah relaxing on his bunk reading a book.
“Noah?”
“Hey,” Noah answered. “Where have you been?”
“We were getting supplies.”
“I didn’t realize it took so long to get supplies,” Noah teased.
“Lou’s missing,” Cody said seriously. “Another woman came in riding her horse, but we couldn’t catch her. Jimmy and Buck are trailing her now.”
“Well, let’s go find Lou,” Noah stated as he retrieved his weapons.
“Lou was suppose to be in Willow Springs,” Cody noted. “So the best ground to cover is in between here and there.”
While Noah saddled his horse, Cody gathered a few supplies they might need if they ended up camping out on the plains. Just as they were about to ride out, an express rider came barreling in. It was Kid. Quickly he handed the mail off to Ike, and approached his fellow riders.
“What are you two up to?” Kid asked casually. His cheerful manner suggested he was having a great day. Of course, he hadn’t heard about Lou’s disappearance yet.
“Kid,” Noah began in a calm manner. Hopefully if they presented the situation right Kid wouldn’t over react. “Lou’s missing.”
“What do you mean missing?” Kid demanded. His manner now completely changed.
The idea of explaining Lou’s disappearance all over again didn’t thrill Cody. However, Kid wasn’t giving him an option. “Someone came in riding her horse. Jimmy and Buck are right on the thief’s trail.”
“We’re going to look for Lou,” Noah added. Hopefully, his words would calm the Kid down.
“I’m going too,” Kid declared as he headed to the barn to get a fresh horse.
“Wait,” Cody called. “We can’t all go.” He glanced at Noah, wordlessly inquiring which one of them was going to stay behind since Kid wasn’t an option. With a nod of his head, Noah volunteered to go. Once that was decided, Kid quickly retrieved a horse from the stable. His new mount was the new sorrel horse the express station purchased.
“Kid,” Noah cried in warning. “He ain’t exactly the best ride.”
“He’ll do,” Kid said with determination. Besides, Kid sensed the horse was fast and good hearted. It was just that he could get a little sassy. “Let’s go find Lou,” Kid ordered. As they rode out to find her, Kid said a silent prayer for Lou’s safety. If anything had happened to Lou, there would be hell to pay.
