She saw Kid glance at her.  "How is he?" he asked, gesturing to the bundled up baby.  It may be April but there was still a chill in the spring air.

Lou carefully switched the baby into the crook of her other arm.  "Sleeping, finally," she replied.  "Spoiled little boy that he is."

"Listen, Lou, I'm sorry about this afternoon," Kid apologized sincerely.  "I had no business pryin' into your life like I did.  I just...."  He paused, searching for words to describe how he felt without giving too much away.  "No matter what's goin' on between us, I still care about ya, and it bothers me to think that there's secrets between us or that someone mighta hurt you."

A warmth spread through her very soul at his concern for her safety.  Her eyes softened as they watched him drive.  She really had been too hard on him.  Lou'd never been able to lie to Kid's face without giving something away and it had scared her to death to think he might guess what she wasn't telling him about Denver.  Then, knowing her as well as he did, whether or not she said anything, he'd know the truth.  Lou smiled as he glanced at her again.  "I care about you, too," she admitted softly, blushing as his eyes lit up.

Kid couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he turned his eyes back to the road before him.  He jumped, however, when he felt her hand on his arm.  Just that one touch had his heart beating harder in his chest and he thought she had to hear it as well.  She'd always had this effect on him, being able to arouse and excite him through just a look, a word, a touch.  He tried to concentrate on the road, but was accutely aware of the light pressure on his forearm.

Lou didn't know what had possessed her to touch him, but was glad she had.  She could feel the muscles in his forearm tense and move beneath her touch and the distracted way he tried to stare straight ahead at the road.  So, I can still bother you, she thought interestedly.  "Kid, trust me," Lou pleaded softly.  "It ain't that I wanna keep this from you, it's just that I can't tell you.  God, I can barely think about it myself."

What is she keeping from me, he wondered frustratedly.  Kid looked into her eyes and knew she was telling the truth.  "So, when you can think about it, will you tell me, please?  Or if you need to talk, you know I'm here, right?"  It was important to him that she understand that he'd drop anything for her.

"You've always been there for me, Kid," she said.  "Most of the time, though, I was stupid and took that for granted.  I never will again.  I promise you'll be the first to know."

Theresa watched the conversation out of the corner of her eye, pretending to be reading a book in the back of the wagon.  Even at eleven years old, she could tell how much her older sister loved the man next to her.  However, over the last year, she'd grown to know her sister really well and could also tell that Louise was trying not to admit the truth to herself.  Theresa liked Kid, despite the fact that he was engaged to her teacher and not Lou.  He was sweet and kind and treated her like a little sister, like Jimmy did, and he loved Lexi.  They're kinda like that story about Romeo and Juliet Louise once told me about, Tessa thought.  Only in this story, their family's the same and they're tryin' to get them together instead of pull 'em apart.  The thought gave her an idea, but she'd have to talk it over with Rachel to see if it could be done.  She smiled softly, going back to her book as she thought out the particulars of the plan her mind was forming.

Lou and Kid rode the rest of the way in silence.  How could a silence be comfortable and yet so tension-filled, Lou wondered.  They sat close on the wagon's bench, so close that their shoulders rubbed as Kid flicked the reins.  She could hear and feel every breath as it stirred her hair ever so slightly and Lou was left awash in memories that made her blush as she tried to focus on Ike riding in front of them.

The two gray and white puppies Jimmy and Theresa had picked out greeted them with joyous barking and wagging tails.  They hardly looked like puppies anymore being almost three months old, but their former owner, a Russian from Alaska who'd come south to escape the vicious winters in the Arctic circle, assured Lou that they'd be "puppies" until they were two-years-old.  Tendra and Wolf, as they'd been dubbed, had fit right in with the misfit family.  At mealtime, they could be found underneath the table, waiting patiently for whatever table scraps they could get.  They already knew the sound of each of the riders' horses hooves as well as which wagon belonged at the former waystation.

Kid pulled up in front of the bunkhouse and helped Theresa down before going around the side to aid Lou.  Instead of taking the baby from her and letting her grab his hand as she climbed down, Kid placed both hands around her waist, his fingers nearly meeting as he lifted her down.  Louise held the baby tightly with one arm, her free hand clutching at his shoulder in surprise.  When her feet touched the ground, however, she was so busy trying not to lose herself in his eyes that she never noticed he hadn't removed his hands.

"So, are you stayin' for dinner tonight?" Lou asked casually.  He usually did.

He looked down awkwardly at her question.  "I can't," he said softly.  Kid sighed as he saw the disappointment flicker in her eyes just briefly before she covered it up.

"Oh," Lou replied, hoping that her disappointment didn't show.  She'd gotten used to sitting across the table from him in the evenings, their eyes meeting and speaking volumes.  The last few weeks had started to feel like times before she'd left Sweetwater.  "I just thought that maybe...since you'd been stayin'...," she trailed off, unsure of what she'd meant to say.

"I'm sorry, Lou, but I'm supposed to have dinner with Laura and her folks seein' as how it's the day before Easter," he admitted.  "It was the only way I could get to spend Easter with you and Lexi tomorrow.  It is his first Easter and I thought that, well, maybe I oughta be there."

Of course, she thought, pushing back her jealousy at the woman's name.  He needs to spend time with his fiancee; you can hardly fault him for that.  But her heart soared when he said he'd wanted to spend Easter with her and his son, almost like a real family.  Lou could feel his hands, warm and strong as they rested on her hips in an unconsciously intimate gesture.  Knowing the others could easily see them almost embarassed her but she wasn't about to make him remove them.  She smiled understandingly up into his apologetic face, her heart truly melting at his unconscious use of those hound-dog eyes that always tugged at her heartstrings.  "Then we'll see you tomorrow," Lou said.

"Okay," Kid replied, relieved that she understood.  When did it start mattering to him more what Lou thought than what Laura thought, he wondered briefly.   It started mattering the moment he'd found out Lou needed his help, needed him, Kid realized.  The thought brought back images of the confrontation that afternoon and the old protectiveness kicked in again.  "Does Teaspoon know about Anderson?" he asked.

"No, but I know you'll tell 'im," Lou replied wryly.

"I'm more worried about what happened this afternoon than what happened before in town."  Kid brought one hand up to cradle her neck in his palm, his eyes boring into hers.  "You be careful, alright?  No goin' out to Silverbirch by yourself.  You know if you need anythin', anytime day or night, you come get me or send someone into town."

"Kid, I am not gonna let that...that bully, run me off my land and steal Lexi's future from him," Lou insisted.  "Tom Anderson's just gonna have to face facts that I bought that land legally, so he can't have it and he sure as heck can't have me!"

Kid sighed and lowered his voice a measure, not letting his frustration get the better of him.  "I ain't askin' ya to just lie down and let 'im walk all over ya and I ain't askin' ya to run away and hide either," he said.  "I'm just askin' ya to be careful so our son don't grow up like we did without a ma.  You've got responsibilities now, Lou.  You've got an obligation to this little boy to be there to raise 'im."

Louise closed her eyes, knowing he was right.  She hung her head in defeat, shaking it slightly as she sighed.  "Dammit I hate it when you're right," Lou muttered.  "I'll be careful, I promise."

He chuckled, his thumb, stroking her neck soothingly.  "Guess you have changed, Lou.  Time was you'd never admit I was right about anythin'," Kid said teasingly.  He bent to kiss the back of his sleeping son's head as it rested against her shoulder, his hands still in place, one on her hip and the other cradling her neck.  "Be good," he told her.

She blinked back at him innocently.  "Me?  Always," she assured him.

Kid's head lowered and he brushed her lips with his in a sweet, gentle kiss, the kind he used to give her before he left on a run.  Lou hadn't even been surprised to feel his lips on hers.  It felt like the most natural thing in the world to kiss him goodbye.
 

Theresa was inside Rachel and Teaspoon's house going over her idea with Rachel as Kid and Lou were saying goodbye.

"I don't know, honey," Rachel said doubtfully.  "I want them together as much as you do, but maybe we shouldn't meddle."  Time had taught her that affairs of the heart were delicate things, best left up to those involved.

"But they love each other!" Theresa insisted.  "Anyone can see it."  She glanced out the window and saw the couple standing very close by the wagon, talking intimately.  Theresa held back the curtain triumphantly.  "See!"

Rachel walked over to the window and, even as she looked out, Kid's head bent as he kissed Louise.  No one could mistake the kiss especially coupled with the possessive and intimate position of his hands.  Rachel's hazel eyes widened in surprise.  She'd sensed something was happening between them but Lou hadn't spoken to her about it.  "Oh, my," she murmured, a slow smile crossing her face.  Her eyes twinkled mischisvously as she turned to look at Theresa.  "Alright, Tessa, I'm in!"

Theresa giggled and hugged the pregnant woman as well as she could considering her size.  "We'll have them livin' happily ever after yet," she said."
 

Seeing who the figures were, Buck quickly placed his saddle on the stall wall and looked around to be sure Danny wasn't within earshot.  "Psst, Noah!" he hissed, trying to get the dark rider's attention.

Noah looked up and walked over, a confused look on his face.  "What's all the whisperin' about?" he asked, automatically dropping his voice down as well.

<Take a look over by the bunkhouse,> Ike signed, still grinning from ear to ear.

Noah's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Kid and Lou standing so close together.  He grinned himself, as the two came together in a kiss.  "Why that ol' dog," he exclaimed.

All three men nearly laughed aloud at the expressions on the couple's faces when they parted and went their separate ways.

"Looks like it surprised them as much as it surprised us," Buck muttered, nearly choking on his laughter.

Ike slapped at his chest for their attention before signing proudly, <I told you they were meant for each other.  Just a matter of time until they figured it out themselves.>

"Well, I don't know if they figured it out all they way yet, but I'd say they was well on their way to it," Noah chuckled as he turned back to his horse.

Buck pulled his saddle up off the stall wall and carried it over to the tackroom, Ike and Noah following.  Luckily, Danny and Jimmy were still talking in the main part of the barn.  "I don't know what Kid's waitin' for," Buck whispered.  "This is what he's wanted the whole time she was gone and he told us all that he's got doubts about Laura and him."

Noah chuckled.  It was just like before she'd left.  "Well, you know the Kid," he said.  "When it comes to women, he ain't the sharpest tack in the box.  Just hope he figures it all out before he starts down that aisle with Miss Wilson on his arm."
 

When Kid's head lifted and his eyes met Louise's, the reality of what they were doing kicked in and they both stared at each other wide-eyed for a moment before pulling away as if each had scorched the other.

"I-I'd better go," Kid stuttered, his hands fidgeting nervously as he gestured to Katy still tethered behind the wagon.

Lou looked away awkwardly.  "Yeah, y-you don't wanna keep Laura waiting," she said with difficulty.  Her heart pounded wildly, half in excitement and half in guilt.  She walked into the bunkhouse quickly, without another word.

Laying Lexi in the basket Theresa had brought in before running outside, Lou listened intently as Kid untethered Katy from the wagon. Lord, oh lord, what were they doing?  She was so confused.  Danny was courting her and here she was kissing Kid, wanting him, and he was promised to someone else.  But it had felt so right!

There was a slight pause after she heard him mount up, as if he were deciding something.  By the time he'd spurred the horse into leaving, Lou had raced to the window and watched as he left, heading in the direction of Sweetwater.  She would not lose her heart to him again, she just wouldn't.  However, something told her it was too late and Louise didn't think she'd have the strength to just let him go like she had last time.
 

Chapter 9