As Kid sat by the window and looked up at the black sky, the only sound he heard was the lone cry of an owl. He sighed to himself and looked towards the bed where Cody was sleeping. Apparently the hotel had been booked almost to capacity when the townspeople disappeared, and since Cody was too spooked out to sleep in a room with someone else’s possessions in it, they were stuck sharing the only available room.

He would insist on taking the bed and leaving me with the floor, Kid thought to himself. Bad back my foot. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter since I don’t plan on sleeping until I find that girl…

As Kid got up from the chair and began to tiptoe across the room, Cody stirred in sleep, and nearly caused Kid to have a heart attack.

“Mhmmmm….” Cody mumbled as he tossed over.

“Cody?” Kid whispered. “Cody, you awake?”

Cody tossed again. “Mhmmm Rachel… those sure do look good…”

Kid laughed to himself. Cody did his all thinking with his stomach and his groin, so Kid couldn’t tell if he was talking about Rachel’s cooking or her attributes. When Kid was sure that Cody wasn’t going to wake up, he slowly opened the door, silently cursing the squeaky hinges. He gently pulled the door shut behind him and quietly turned the key in the lock. Why am I bothering? Kid thought to himself as he chuckled. Ain’t nobody gonna be breakin’ into this room tonight… much to Cody’s disappointment.

Kid walked down the stairs, lit a lantern, and took a look around the ground floor. It was still deserted, except for a mouse that he heard scuttling about on the hard wood floor. He walked to the front door and peeked outside. Not a sound. He figured the best place to start looking was the last place that he saw his girl - The General Store.

Did I just say my girl? Kid shook his head and walked across the street to the General Store.

“What the hell?” Kid said out loud as he opened the front door and took a look around the store. “Why in the world is this place clean and in order?” As he walked around the store, he noticed that there were no traces of dust and disarray, like in the other buildings that they had seen that day. It looked as of the shopkeeper had just cleaned the place that night! It was then that Kid noticed a faint light coming from the back of the shop.

The girl slept soundly not hearing a thing, having no clue that there was an intruder in her safe haven. She had been so worn out from the day’s events that as soon as she thought that she was safe she had taken a warm bath and washed the week’s worth of dirt and grime off of herself. She hadn’t planned on sleeping, but she had practically collapsed the second she sat down on her bed. Within minutes she had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Kid quietly followed the yellow glow until he reached a set of stairs that lead up to the second floor of the building. He walked up the stairs slowly, anticipation growing in the pit of his stomach for he know that he had found his mystery girl. He finally found the source of the light – a room at the end of the hall with light peeking out from underneath the door. Now Kid knew why he hadn’t seen the light from outside – this room was in the back of the building, so she must have known that she wouldn’t be spotted.

The amount of time it took Kid to reach out and touch the doorknob seemed like an eternity. He closed his fingers around the brass knob and slowly turned it until he heard the latch give way. He walked into the small room and lost his breath for a moment when he saw the girl sleeping in the bed in front of him.

The small lantern by her bedside cast a soft yellow glow over her body, accentuating her very beautiful and very delicate features. He saw that she had bathed, for her face was free of the dirt mask and her hair was fanned across her pillow like spun silk. As he walked closer and knelt down by her bedside he drank in every inch of her that he could see. She had perfect pink heart-shaped lips, a tiny button nose, slim arched eyebrows, and the longest eyelashes that he had ever seen. She had a slim, graceful neck that lead down to dainty shoulders that were partially covered by her quilt. Her skin had a creamy peachy coloring that looked as smooth and soft as a baby’s. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and touching her cheek, and wasn’t surprised when it felt like satin.

All of a sudden he was looking into a pair of the bluest eyes that he had ever seen before. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her mouth was opened in a silent scream.

Kid jumped up and backed up as she sat up straight and drew her covers up to her chin, her eyes shining with terror.

“My name is Kid, I’m not going to hurt you!” Kid held out his hands in a sign of what he thought would be seen as friendly gesturing, but it only caused her to crawl back farther on the bed and pull the covers up even tighter around her body. She was shaking terribly and was now as white as a ghost.

Kid thought quickly. “I ride for the Pony Express was just passing on through. I know that something terrible has happened here and I want to help you. Please?” Kid pleaded with his eyes.

The girl seemed to stop shaking and she regained some coloring in her cheeks. She still kept the covers to her chin and watched him with guarded eyes, but at least she didn’t look like she was going to jump through the window anymore.

“Were you the girl that was shooting at us earlier today?” Kid slowly questioned and she nodded. Kid decided to try and lighten the situation a little and laughed. “Cody, my friend that you shot, found it hard to accept the fact that he was shot by a girl.”

A faint smile crept across the girl’s face and Kid thought that she couldn’t look any more beautiful.

“Can you tell me your name?”

The girl opened her mouth but found that no sound would come out. She tried again, but still no sound would come out. She started to get agitated, so Kid tried to calm her down.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.” He spotted a pen and pad on the night table. He picked them up, sat down on the edge of the bed and handed them to her. “Can you write it?”

She nodded and took the pen and pad from Kid. A few seconds later she handed it back to him. Written in graceful script was “Patricia Sue Llandry, but you may call me Tricia.”

Kid smiled at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Tricia. That’s a beautiful name.” Tricia smiled back at him. She seemed to have relaxed now that she knew he wasn’t going to hurt her. Kid noticed that her eyelids were starting to flutter and he remembered that he had woken her out of a sound sleep. The last thing that he wanted to do was leave her, but he knew that she must be exhausted and needed her rest.

“Well Tricia, I think that you should get a good night’s sleep and we’ll finish talking tomorrow.” He started to get up and panic set into her eyes again. She reached out and grabbed his arm pulling him back down.

“What’s the matter?”

Tricia shook her head.

“You need to get some sleep.”

Tricia shook her head again and held on the Kid’s arm more firmly.

“I’m not leaving town, I’m only going back across the street to the hotel.”

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and started to slowly drip down her cheeks. She kept shaking her head and holding onto Kid’s arm with a pleading look on her face.

“You want me to stay?” Kid asked, surprised and also relieved. He hadn’t wanted to leave Tricia’s side, but he didn’t want to frighten her.

Tricia nodded and smiled. She moved over to one side of the bed and lay down, motioning for Kid to lay down next to her. Kid couldn’t refuse the look on her face. Whatever she had seen had certainly scared the daylights out of her, and he knew that if his presence would bring her peace, then his presence she would have.

Kid lay his head against the pillow and within minutes heard Tricia’s soft, steady breathing, indicating that she was sleeping. For the first time in as long as he could remember, the last face he thought of before falling asleep was not Lou’s.

At some point during the night Kid awoke to find Tricia in his arms. Her head was resting in the nook of his shoulder, and her right arm was encircling his waist. From somewhere deep in the back of his head a voice told him that he’d better get back to the hotel. If Cody woke to find Kid missing he would be worried. But then Kid looked down at Tricia, a look of pure peace and content on her face, and he told himself that he would stay just a few minutes longer…

“What the hell?”

Kid sat straight up in bed, opened his eyes and was blinded by the glaring sunlight that was streaming in through the open window. He glanced around the room and found Cody standing in the doorway, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Kid quickly checked to make sure that Tricia was still asleep, and then proceeded to free himself from her tangle of arms. He quietly climbed out of bed and indicated that Cody should go out into the hallway. Kid followed him, pulling the door shut behind him.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on here?” Cody said loudly.

“Sssh!” Kid put a finger to his lips.

“Who’s that girl?” Cody whispered, still a little loud and excited. “And what in the hell were you doin’ in bed with her?”

Kid grinned sheepishly. “I found our sharp shooter.”

“Her?” Cody exclaimed, with a trace of disbelief in his voice.

Kid gave an affirmative nod. “Uh huh.”

Cody shook his head. “I don’t believe this. Well, back to my other question… what in the hell were you doin’ in bed with her?” Cody asked accusingly.

“We weren’t doin’ nothin’.”

Cody raised an eyebrow and gave Kid a skeptical look. “Nothin’, eh? I wouldn’t call sleepin’ in the same bed with another woman nothin’. What will Lou think?”

Kid threw him a hard look. “She won’t think nothin’ because there is nothin’ to tell her. Tricia was just scared and didn’t want to spend the night alone.”

“Tricia, huh? You’re on a first name basis with the nut-job that tried to kill us?”

“She’s not a nut-job. I already told you, she was scared. She thought that we were here to hurt her… or maybe worse.” Kid reasoned.

Cody’s face softened slightly. “Something really bad happened here, didn’t it?”

Kid nodded and gave him a grim smile. “Tricia witnessed whatever happened here. It was so terrible that she can’t even talk anymore.”

“Can’t talk? You mean like Ike?”

Kid shook his head. “No… I don’t think it’s for good. You know that saying Teaspoon likes to use, ‘scared speechless’?”

Cody nodded. “Yeah…”

“Well, I think that’s what happened here. Whatever it was that she saw was so bad that she can’t even bring herself to talk. Maybe she’s afraid that if she talks she’ll have to talk about it.” Kid sighed sadly. “I’m hoping that as she grows to trust me more she’ll open up and talk again.”

“You?”

“What?”

“Trust you? What am I, chopped meat?” Cody asked, a trace of hurt in his voice.

Kid hadn’t even realized that he didn’t include Cody in the equation. He immediately felt bad for insulting his friend, and tried to think of a way to cheer him up.

“What I meant was, I’m usually good at making people talk. You’re so good at making them feel comfortable and relaxed with your humor. She’ll probably end up laughing at one of your ridiculous jokes before saying anything of meaning to me.”

Cody cocked his head to the side and thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, you’re probably right… no woman can resist my charm.”

Kid rolled his eyes. I’ve created a monster. The other riders will never forgive me when we get home.

“So, if she can’t talk, how did you find out her name?” Cody questioned.

“I had her write it down on paper. Her full name is Patricia Sue Llandry, but she said that I can call her Tricia.”

“So, are you planning to introduce me to this Tricia?” Cody grinned.

“Cody…” Kid warned. “She’s been through something terrible, and I think the last thing that she needs is you tryin’ to sweep her off her feet.” Besides, if she’s going to end up with anyone here, it certainly won’t be you. Kid thought to himself. God, what am I thinking? I have to get these crazy thoughts out of my head or I’m gonna-

Kid’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Tricia’s bedroom door flying open. There stood Tricia, her eyes wide and frantic and her hair a mess. As soon as she saw Kid she relaxed and smiled.

“Hey! Good morning!” Kid said to her cheerfully.

Tricia smiled at him and nodded towards Cody. She cocked her head to the side curiously and motioned towards his arm.

Kid laughed. “Yes, this is him.”

Cody stepped forward, half bowed to her, took her delicate hand in his and kissed the back of it. “It’s a pleasure Miss Llandry. My name is William F. Cody, but you may call me Billy - or just Cody if ya like.” he said with a smile.

Tricia smiled, but then a look of bewilderment crossed her face. She motioned to Cody’s arm again and then pointed to herself.

“That’s okay, we’re not going to let a little thing like that stop us from being friends.” Cody said, still smiling. It was obvious that he was immediately taken with this girl. “Besides, it was just a graze… nothing too serious.”

Tricia let out a sigh of relief and smiled again.

“I’ll tell ya what…. why don’t you go get washed and dressed while Cody and I make us some breakfast.”

Cody laughed. “Now you’re really in trouble!”

Tricia smiled and her eyes lit up with happiness. Impulsively she leaned forward, planted a quick kiss on Kid’s cheek and then shyly turned and ran back into her bedroom. Kid blushed a deep shade of red from the top of his head all the way down to his toes.

“She doesn’t know about Lou, does she?” Cody asked seriously.

Kid shook his head. “No, last night we didn’t really talk. I just told her who I was and why we were here. That’s all.”

“Well, I think I’ve been pushed out of the running here. And not by you either.” Cody said with a knowing look on his face.

“She’s not interested in me,” Kid replied, but he didn’t believe himself either.

“If you say so…” Cody must have realized that this was really bothering Kid, so he changed the subject. “So, are you really planning to poison us with your cooking?”

“I’m not that bad! Come on, let’s go downstairs.” Kid laughed as he began to walk down the stairs.

Cody followed, quietly shaking his head. This isn’t good. I’ve never seen Kid like this… not even with Lou.

As Tricia walked back into her room, she spun around smiling very girlishly. What is with me? Why am I acting like this? she thought to herself. But she knew why. For the first time since the “incident” as she chose to call it, she was in human company again. But this time she was with someone that she felt she could trust with her life. Not only was he the most handsome man that she had ever laid eyes on, but she could tell that he was a good person inside. Honest, trustworthy, and someone that she was very definitely falling for.

She walked over to her wash basin and took a cloth to wash her face. As she looked up into the mirror hanging over the table she was shocked at her appearance. My God, I look like the walking dead! She thought to herself as she took notice of her flyaway hair and the dark circles under her eyes.

For the next thirty minutes she painstakingly worked on her hair and face, and by the time she finished buttoning up her dress, she was absolutely breathtaking. She had pulled her blonde curls into a loose bun at the back of her neck, with a few stray curls hanging down and framing her heart shaped face. She had chosen a dark blue dress with tiny white flowers that brought out the blue in her eyes. I hope that Kid likes the way I look now, she thought to herself again as she left her room and began the descent down the stairs to the kitchen at the back of the house.

On to Chapter Five

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