Prologue
Lou was sitting in the bunkhouse when Cody came in.
"Lou, you have a package, what is it? I think to looks like a book of some kind. Who's it from."
Lou jumped down from her bunk and took the package from Cody. "If you give me a minute or two to look at this, I'll try to answer all your questions, OK?"
Cody nodded as Lou opened the package. Inside she found a journal, A used journal at that. There was also a note that just read:
Now, that you are older I wanted you to know the truth. I was a friend of your mothers, she gave me this and said that if anything ever happened to her then I was to give this to you on your sixteenth birthday, but I could not find you then. I hope this helps you learn more about your life, your mother, and…your father. I can not contact you again or my life would be in danger. Take care.—Shelly
Lou didn't know what to think she had read the letter out loud so that Cody would get the answers to the questions he wanted. But Cody still had one question. "Whose journal is it, Lou?"
Lou opened the journal and dropped it as soon as she saw the handwriting. "My mother's"
Chapter 1
Lou picked the journal back up, she ran her hands over the cover as if it were alive and she was petting it. At this time the rest of the boys, expect for Kid who was out on a ride, walked in. This was a relieve to Cody because for one of the few moments in his life he didn't know what to say. Lou didn't notice the rest of the riders; she was still holding the small red book again her chest. Lou finally noticed everyone and walked out to the barn without saying a word.
She was sitting on a hay bail, reading the words her mother had written over eighteen years ago, when she heard footsteps.
"Lou?! What are you doing out here this late at night."
"Kid, I didn't think that you would make it back tonight."
"Katy and I were making good time so I decided to sleep in a bed tonight, instead of out in the rain. Lou, it is after eleven why are you out here?"
"Eleven! I've been out here for almost there hours and I'm only on the first page!"
Seeing the worry on Kid's face made Lou realize that she hadn't told him about the package, in fact the only one who know was Cody and he wasn't someone she could talk to about all this. Lou told Kid about the package as he was taking care of Katy.
"Well, what did your mom write? What more did she have to tell you about your father?"
"Kid, I have only read the first page and the truth is that I can't believe what a have read so...far," Lou was now crying, Kid noticed this and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her. "My father wasn't…she was carrying me….I never…he doesn't…"
"Its alright, I really don't know what you are trying to say. Please clam down and try to tell me again. Just take your time we can stay out here all night if you need to." Kid lends down and kissed Lou on the top of her head.
Lou handed him the journal and told him to read it. He sat down on the hay bail and started to read the words that Lou had been looking at for the last three hours.
I just came home from the doctors. He told me the news, that I was carrying you. My sweet baby, what are we going to do? I don't know how to find your father. He and I only had a few days, and nights, together. I didn't learn much about him. We meet down in Texas; I was just passing though. He lived in Texas, but in a different part. I wish I would have asked him for the address, but things were just so perfect I didn't want to take a chance of finding out anything bad about this man. All I have to tell you about him is that he was the best man I have ever known. I knew from the moment I first saw him that I was in love with this man and after the time that we shared together I know that he loves me, too. All I really know is his last name, Hunter. He didn't give me his first name just told me to call him Teaspoon. I'm so very sorry I can't tell you anything more.
Chapter Two
"Teaspoon! Are you going to tell him, show him this?" Kid couldn't believe what he had just read. He now understood why Lou was so upset when he first got home.
Lou looked down at her feet not knowing what to say or do; this was never something she had thought about before she had always known that Boggs was her father. Now, her dead mother was telling her that Boggs was not her father, further more, her father was the one man that she had for the last year wished was her father.
"Lou, do you want me to talk to Teaspoon for you. Maybe he would take it better coming from me so that he has time to think of what to say to you."
"No, thank you, but I need to tell him about this myself but first I think that I need to make sure that it really is Teaspoon that Mama was talking about. I want to make sure that it really was him and not just someone using his name."
Kid handed Lou back the journal and after a few more minutes of talking they realize that they were both very tried and needed sleep.
Lou woke up early; in fact she was the first one up. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep, but for some reason she felt very well rested. She had a run today, she was going to St. Jo and wanted to look around a little to see if she could find anything out there.
Lou decided that seeing how she was already up she might as well get started on the work for the day. The stables needed cleaned this was Jimmy's job today, but cleaning them was something that Lou enjoyed doing when she had things that she wanted to think about.
Lou had started using her mother's maiden name right after she had died. If Teaspoon really was her father then why didn't he ask her about it? Did her mother not tell Teaspoon her last name? Did Teaspoon just and put two and two together and realize that Louise McClound was Mary Louise McClound's daughter?
So many questions and so few answers. Well, I have I ride in just a few hours. Should I tell Teaspoon about this before I leave? Or should I ask around St. Jo and see if I can find out who Shelly is, after all the package was post-marked there, and then tell Teaspoon about it when I get home?
Lou was so deep it thought that she didn't even hear the footsteps of the person who walked up behind her. "Lou?"
Lou turned around only to came face to face with the last person she wanted to see right now. "Teaspoon, what are you doing here, if everything alright?"
"Everything is fine, Lou. You are taking the ride to St. Jo, right?" Teaspoon didn't wait for the answer; "I'm going to be riding with you. Seems I have to pick -up a man that is wanted for stealing guns from the army. He is going to be staying with us at the Rock Creek jail for a week or two."
Chapter Three
Teaspoon stood there looking at the young girl who had taken a huge part of his heart, he started to get worried about the blank look on Lou's face. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Would you like to stay home today and I'll have one of the boys go in your place?"
Yes, I would love to stay here. I' m not sure if I can talk to you just yet.
"No, Teaspoon, I'm fine. I'll go, besides you know how much I hate it when the boys try doing my job."
Lou and Teaspoon smiled at the other. Teaspoon walked off after telling Lou he would be back in two hours so that they could leave.
Jimmy and Kid were inside the bunkhouse getting dressed, when Lou walked back in. Jimmy yelled at her to get out, but Lou was off in her own little world and didn't hear him.
Lou's presence made Jimmy very uncomfortable; maybe it would have been easier if he didn't feel the way he felt about her. Kid noticed the way Jimmy was acting and being such a good friend he just had to tease Jimmy a little about this.
"Well, now, don't tell me that the famous Wild Bill Hickok is shy about being undressed in front of a lady."
Jimmy got out of the room as fast as he could. Kid was glad that he had now maybe he could talk to Lou about Teaspoon. Lou was sitting on Kid's bunk; Kid walked over to her and sat down beside her.
Kid started to say something, but Lou cut him off with a kiss. "Kid, I don't feel like taking right now… I have other things on my mind." Lou started to kiss him once more, but Kid pulled away.
"Lou, we can't do this."
"Sure we can. Ain’t like we haven't before."
"And what if someone walks in?"
"Rachel and Jesse are at school, Teaspoon won't be here for over an hour, Noah is on a ride as is Buck, Cody and Ike are off doing something for Teaspoon, they won't be back for a while. Jimmy is the only one around and I don't think he wants to come back in here right now."
Kid gives in and softly pushes Lou onto the bed. His shirt is now off. He was unbuttoning her shirt, when Teaspoon walked in.
Neither Kid nor Lou had seen him. Teaspoon decided to "teach" these two that "dancing" was not to take place in the bunkhouse. He went outside and got a bucket of cold water.
Chapter Four
He softly walked over and dumped the water on Kid's back. Kid jumped up as Lou pulled her shirt back over her chest.
As soon as Kid saw who had done this his face when bright red, he started telling Teaspoon how sorry he was. "…Teaspoon, I don't know what to say, this would be so much easier if she wasn't your daughter…" Kid couldn't believe what he had just said. Teaspoon looked at him puzzled, whereas, Lou just glared at him.
"My what! One of you better tell me what is going on here."
Lou knew that she should tell him, but how do you tell someone that you just found out that he is your daddy? "Kid, would you please leave? I want to talk to Teaspoon alone."
Kid nodded and left, with a new change of clothes. Lou sat back down on the bed. Where do I start? "Teaspoon, when you lived in Texas did you ever meet anyone named Mary Louise McClound?"
"I was hoping that you never found out about that. I didn't think it would do no good for you to know that your mama and me spent a few nights together."
"You KNEW about this, about me and you didn't want me to know. Why would you keep this from me? I'm I that bad that …sniff…you don't want people to know that I'm your daughter?"
"Lou, what are you talking about? Your mama and I did have I few nights together, but that was it. She had her life and I had mine, they just didn't match up. As for you being my daughter," Teaspoon sat down next to the crying girl and wrapped his arms around her. Lou laid her head on his shoulder, "Honey, I would give anything to have you as my daughter, my real daughter, but your mama and I were together before you were even thought of. I'm sorry, I really am."
Lou stands up and reached under her pillow. She pulled out the dairy. "Teaspoon, I was sent this yesterday. It's mama's dairy. She wrote it when she was carrying me. In it she says that you're my father. Here, why don't you read it."
"Teaspoon, when were you and mama together?"
"Well, if I remember right is was back in '42. Must have been November, yeah, it was November 1842."
"Teaspoon, I was born in August of 1843, that's nine months!"
Teaspoon reed the dairy, while Lou just sat next to him.
Epilogue
Teaspoon fished reading the page; he looked at Lou and smiled. "Well, it looks like dreams do came true."
Lou tried to tell him about how she was sent the dairy and the very little she knows about Shelly. Teaspoon told her that it didn't matter who she was it was just great that he now knew about his daughter.
"Well, Lou what do you say we leave a little early for this ride? I would like to get to know more about my daughter."
"I would like that too. I never had a chance to be daddy's girl."
THE END
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
The Way Station
Campfire Tales
