How did she get herself into this. She loved Kid. But why did he have to be so damn stubborn? Lou sighed. Jimmy had been so good to her lately. He was always there for her. And he cared about her. Maybe too much. What was she supposed to do?

" Louise."

" Lou?"

" Lou?! If you're not careful, you're gonna peel your fingers right off with the rest of that potato," Rachel had noticed how distracted since the "incident" this morning between her and Kid. She didn't want to pry, but Lou seemed so upset...

Lou looked down at the potato she'd been peeling for Rachel, only to see scraps of it all over the table.

"Sorry, Rachel," she sighed, as she reached for another potato.

"You alright?" Rachel asked, but before Lou could answer, she heard Cody shout,

"RIDER COMIN' "

Rachel sighed. "Must be Jimmy,"

Lou stood up, and looked toward the door. She wanted to go greet Jimmy with the rest of the boys, but that would mean Kid would be out there. She sat back down with a thud, and began to scrape at the potato in her hand.

"Rachel! I think you better come out here," Cody yelled. Rachel looked out the window and dropped the dish in her hand. Lou looked up with a start to see Rachel heading out the door in a hurry. Worried that Jimmy might be hurt, Lou rushed outside. What she saw made her stop in horror.

"Damnit, Kid, what the HELL is wrong with you?" Jimmy yelled. He sure as hell didn't expect what was happening. He had just come in from his ride to St. Jo, and wanted to get some food and some sleep, NOT his best friend pulling a gun on him.

"This is all your fault!" Kid yelled, and Jimmy growled.

"Look, I ain't gotta clue what..." Jimmy started, but his view was suddenly blocked. By Lou.

"Kid!"

"Lou, move," Kid yelled.

"Louise, please just listen to him for once," Jimmy snapped. Lou ignored him for the most part.

"Kid, put the gun down! This is between me and you. If you wanna shoot anyone, go ahead. Shoot me," Lou taunted, knowing full well that Kid could never do it. At least she HOPED not.

"Lou, for the last time, darlin, move!" Jimmy yelled. He wasn't about to let her get hurt. As it is, he was having a hard time seeing Kid's gun pointed right at her head.

"No, Jimmy. Come on Kid. What are you waitin' for?" she questioned him. Ever so slowly, Kid lowered his gun. Cody, Buck, and Rachel all let out the breath they'd been holding.

Falling back into her motherly routine, Rachel walked up to Kid, grabbed him by the neck, and dragged him off to the bunkhouse. All the boys heard was, " What in the world has gotten into you? What in the devil's name possessed you to pull a stunt like that?!"

"Lou...you alright?" Jimmy walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Everyone had long since gone away, but Lou and Jimmy had stood right where they were.

"Yeah, fine," she stated. " 'Have to go peel the potatoes," She started to walk off, but Jimmy held her arm. He turned her around and pulled her to him. he wrapped his arms around her tightly and she let out a sob. She couldn't help it. Kid had pointed a gun right at her. Never in her life, had she thought that would happen. It scared her. He'd also pointed that gun at Jimmy, and that unnerved her. Kid had such a distinct sense of honor, but there was no honor in what he'd done.

"What happened? Lou, did he hurt you? If he did..." he said into her hair, getting angrier at the thought that Kid had hurt her.

"No. Actually...I decked him. It's a long story and I really don't wanna talk about it," she revealed, pulling out of his embrace. Jimmy had already figured out that the fight was about him. Or at least invovled him. He just wondered what could have set Kid off like that...unless...

"Lou, you didn't tell him...about...when we kissed, did you?" he managed to ask, just barely.

"Do you think I'm nuts? We swore we wouldn't say nothin',"

"You swore. I didn't," he said bitterly, yet softly at the same time. When he did that, she lost a little of her resolve.

"I...I have to go help Rachel," she whispered as she ran into the main house, the screen slamming behind her. All the boys had gone out to the barn, with the exception of Kid, who was still in the bunk house. Jimmy walked his golden palomino into the barn and everyone shut their mouths.

"What? Talkin' about me?" Jimmy inquired, his anger flaring slightly.

"Nope," Cody said, shaking his head.

"We were just...discussing the weather," Buck added.

"Yeah, a bad storm comin'," Cody said, pun fully intended.

"Yeah? We'll see," Jimmy muttered under his breath. He put his saddle up and decided that he'd practice his shooting. He needed to clear his head of all thoughts of Lou. He walked out and set the tin cans that he'd saved up along the fence. Lately, he'd lose his concentration if she was around. Even thinking about her brought trouble anymore. Not that he minded. Thinking about Lou made him happy. He fired his first shot and missed by a long shot. He had to stop thinking about her! He pictured one of the cans as Kid's face and nailed it dead center. He knew that was just as dangerous. He didn't want Kid dead, but bruised wasn't far from the mark.

To be continued...

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