Oh, god. What do I do now? Kid knows I’m a girl and he has no reason to keep it to himself.’ Lou thought as she lay in the bed, her side aching from where the bullet wounded her. She watched him with wary eyes as he entered the small shack carrying an armload of wood. There was no way to gauge his mood; his countenance was solemn, giving nothing of what he thought away. “Uh, Kid?” she ventured, needing to talk to him about the situation she now found herself in. “What?” he asked friendly enough, setting the wood down next to the fireplace. He brushed the dirt and debris off his hands and came to sit down on the side of the bed that she lay upon. “I was wondering…I mean, I need to know that you won’t tell anyone. About my being a girl that is…” she stammered, her heart sinking into the pit of her stomach at the thought of being sent away from her job. Her hand resting on top of his stopped anything he was about to say as she began to explain. “Please,” she begged. “I really need this job Kid. I’ve got to make enough money to get my brother and sister out of an orphanage. They’re in St. Joe. I haven’t seen them in a couple of years, but I promised! I promised I’d go back for them and if I don’t have this job, I can’t do that…” Kid’s eyes filled with sympathy. He knew what it was like living in such a place, though he had never told anyone he had. He also knew what it was like to watch and wait day in and day out for his brother Jed to come and get him. He never did. Her plea touched his heart in a way that surprised him. Here she was, a young woman trying to make it in a man’s job, giving up her femininity to don a man’s garb, living day to day in a room full of men, never complaining because she too, had made a promise to return. Giving her a smile that reached his eyes, Kid reassured her. “Your secret’s safe with me Lou. I can promise you that.” Her eyes closed in relief at his words. “Thank you,” she whispered, her secret safe again, for now. Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!