Epilogue
By Joanna Phillips
Kid sat back on his heels in triumph, and studied his work closely. He'd been working all morning, but wouldn't settle for anything less than perfection.
From her spot on a blanket nearby, Lou watched him with tender eyes as he reached out to gently touch the name on the simple, but sturdy wooden cross. Two others just like it stood near by.
Marty Weathers, Barney Weathers, Jed McCloud. The two men who'd saved his life in prison, and the child whose body had been left at peace in Virginia.
Kid had promised them the finest spot on all his land, and for days had searched to find just a spot. Finally he'd announced the bluff overlooking the plain stretching all the way to the Rockies would be theirs. Lou had stood with him on the rise yesterday, with the early autumn wind tugging her hair from her braid and had agreed it was a fine resting place.
Unable to stare at the three reminders of the cost of war, Lou chose instead to glance back toward the old Sweetwater station. It had been completely abandoned when they had moved to Rock Creek, and was worse for the long years of neglect. However, knowing that here she and Kid were getting their life and their dream of raising horses underway, knowing James would grow here and have a place to call home with the loving parents neither of them had known, brought a deep peace to her soul.
She smiled as she thought of Jonathan and Catherine, who'd promised to visit them as soon as possible. Leaving them had been hard. Lou and Catherine had grown incredibly close, as only women who fight to survive together can. However, the excitement of going back to Rock Creek, of reuniting with the family they'd been absent from nearly two years was great, and the welcome they'd received had helped to heal the last of the bitterness and sorrow from both Kid and Lou's souls.
Rachel and Teaspoon made the decision to move back to Sweetwater, seeing as Russell, Majors, and Wadell had to sell the station after a year of it sitting abandoned. Sam and Emma had returned to their life with their two pretty daughters, promising to visit often. Buck drifted, but was presently staying at the station and helping Kid with the barn and the search for a suitable stallion. Jimmy and Cody had both come out of the war without a scratch, but were still with the army as the loose ends of war were tied up.
Lou glanced toward the paddocks and smiled. Katy and Lightning, old friends by now, stood side by side, swishing at flies. Ben, the huge draft horse she'd bought to carry her back to Rock Creek was also there, nudging at one of the newer horses. She grinned when she thought of Kid's reaction to the horse and her insistence on keeping him.
"That's the ugliest damn nag I've ever seen…but if he got you here safely, then he can sleep in the house if he wants to."
Sighing, she looked back to Kid, who was still now touching the cross for the child she'd lost. Slowly she got up, glad that Rachel had volunteered to watch James. They needed this time alone to put their demons behind them.
Kid barely noticed the hand that rested on top of his head for a minute. Finally, he looked up with a tear streaked face. Lou held her hand out to him, and obediently he climbed to his feet, standing docilely as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
There were no words to be spoken, Lou knew. Nothing to be said that could make everything alright, so they stood in silent memorial of three souls; one that had been a result of their love, two that had died so that they might continue to love.
Kid heard the sound behind them first, and whirled quickly. Startled, Lou flung herself around, eyes wide. They both relaxed, and smiles spread across their faces as they discovered the source of the disturbance.
Tromping through the high grass on foot, side by side, were Jimmy and Cody. Jamie, now just over three years old and a bundle of energy behind guileless blue eyes, sat triumphantly on his namesake's shoulders, squealing with laughter.
Kid grabbed Lou's hand and led her down the hill at a run, until they met the two men with hugs, kisses, tears, and laughter. It was a sweet reunion, and having them back safely seemed to bring the whole ordeal full circle.
It is over Lou thought, as she smiled at Jimmy's exclamation of how much Jamie looked like Kid. And yet, we've just begun!
The thought seemed exciting and foreign, given all the years they'd waited to start their life together, but as the adults settled down on the hillside beside the crosses to catch up, and as Jamie busied himself with looking for bugs, Lou realized it was true.
For as long as they'd known each other, the threat of the war had divided all the riders. Yet, somehow throughout it all, they'd never lost touch with what held them together.
Lou shook her head, marveling at the many bonds that governed the lives and workings of men and women.
A bond to his home had blindly driven Kid to turn his back on his friends and family and risk his life for the soil he was born on. The bond of duty forced Lou to go with him to Virginia, and wait for his return in the lonely farmhouse. The bond of dedication for her husband pushed Lou back home to find help when she was heartsick and tired, and ready to give up. A bond of brotherhood convinced the boys and Teaspoon to go with Lou to get Kid out of prison, despite the danger and the small odds of success. A bond of honor made Kid determined to stay in Point Lookout with his comrades, to die with them. A bond of fierce loyalty had pushed Jimmy to risk his own life so that two people he loved might find a life. A bond of humanity caused Jonathan Monroe to betray his country to help a stranger. A bond of need had brought Lou back from the dead to live with her son and husband.
And in every one of these bonds was sown the seeds of another bond, a bond so strong that no man, no woman, no war, no force in the world might break it apart. The bond of love, a driving force behind every action between them, instilled in them since they were thrown together as outcasts with nothing in common but their loneliness. This bond of love and devotion had carried them though a conflict that had ripped their country in half, and proven strong enough to hold them together. In fact, it would continue to hold them together, defying all obstacles, and lasting forever through times of peace, war, hate, grief, and even through death.
True, Lou realized, the bonds of men are many,…But the greatest of these is love…
The End
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
The Way Station
Campfire Tales