Same Song, Different Verse

As difficult as it was to see Buck and Cody leave, life had to go on the way it had before they arrived. The business Lou and Kid had established went on through the summer months with little excitement. Their lives calmed down again and Rose re-established what was normal in the household. She had a hard time staying healthy for the first couple of months of her life.

The doctor said they were lucky she had been born during the summer. If the weather had been cold and snowy she may have been too sick to survive to the spring. Her entire family knew that, but it didn't seem likely she would let something like a cold keep her down. Kid had been right when he said she'd be as stubborn as her mother. She fought off every illness rather quickly and certainly let everyone in the house know when something wasn't right. She cried as loudly as any baby they'd ever heard and kept everyone up sometimes when she was having trouble.

No one minded though, except Abby of course. She liked having a little sister, but couldn't understand why Rose was sick so often and would cry for hours on end. Once all that subsided though, Abby got her family's attention back. It impressed her when Rose was an infant that she had seemed so large in her mother's stomach. Now that she was born though, she was really extremely small. Of course, once she was able to sit up and smile Rose took on more of a real life doll to Abby, making her all the more interesting.

Teaspoon once again assumed the role of grandfather and spoiled the new baby to no end. Of course, Abby got in on it too and began to appreciate that a little sister also meant some good things. Teaspoon had to learn everything that goes with infants this time around though. It was as though he were a new father. Abby had been two when he came to live with them full time. By that age she was running around and chattering non-stop. Seeing an infant who couldn't sit up by itself was quite different. Of course he appreciated how much easier to manage that made her, but, like everyone else, he couldn't wait for her get bigger and stronger.

Rachel came over constantly, usually with a plausible excuse to stop by when all she wanted was check on them. Lou and Kid knew an extra pair of hands was not something to turn away and they let her fuss over the infant as much as she wanted. She also helped Abby improve her reading and writing skills in anticipation for school in the fall. It was exciting for her to see Abby learning so rapidly. Rachel always thought of Abby as her own; the same way she thought of Abby's parents as hers.

During that time, Lou and Kid tried to look forward to the time they wouldn't have to worry about whether Rose would make it through the night. What they remembered from Abby's infancy seemed irrelevant now. Abby had spoiled them. She had almost never been sick in her entire life and taught herself to sleep through the night when she about four months old. Rose on the other hand was constantly fussy and they knew she was having a hard time sleeping. This was a major dose of reality for the both of them.

Even so, Rose kept trying to put on weight and get a good night's sleep. At about three months she slept through the night for the first time. The next night she was back to crying once or twice though. Eventually that did stop and by five months there were no more consistent, piercing cries in the night.

In the mean time, Abby began school and immediately liked it. Every afternoon Rachel would bring her home herself. That was partially because she didn't want Teaspoon to make the trip with his bad leg and partially because she loved bragging about how fast Abby was learning.

As Rose's first birthday approached the next year that was what life had turned out as for the McCloud family. Two happy, healthy daughters, Teaspoon, Rachel, Lou and the Kid all around a dinner table every night. It began reminding Lou of their express days. She started missing Cody and Buck about that time too. She knew she wouldn't see them again for a while, but there was always a hope in the back of her mind that they might come back unexpectedly.

"Where'd Teaspoon take the girls? They've been gone for a while," Lou commented looking out the window when she noticed they had been gone for an hour. Teaspoon had taken them for a ride and said he'd be back soon, but it was already dark outside.

"I asked him to take them to Rachel's for the weekend. I figured you needed a break."

"And when were you planning on letting me in on this?" Lou asked irritated.

"What's wrong? They've spent the weekend at Rachel's before," Kid asked suddenly feeling like he'd made a huge mistake.

"I know, and it was real sweet of you, but I'm their mother. I kind of need to know this stuff," Lou said smiling at him as she slipped her arms around his waist.

"I should have told you before, huh?"

"Yeah, that would have been a good idea. I guess there is one good thing about this though."

"What's that?"

"It's quiet here."

"That's the idea," Kid said grinning at her wickedly.

"When was the last time we got to be alone like this?" Lou asked kissing him gently.

"How old's Abby again?"

"If it's been that long, how'd we end up with Rose?" Lou asked kissing him again.

"Maybe it just feels like that. But, I don't think it'll stay way for much longer," Kid said.

Lou and Kid made the most of the time they had alone that weekend. It seemed like they hadn't seen each other in months. Their horse trading had picked up in the last month. It was the most successful it had been in over a year; everyone had been hurrying to get things done on time. Rose was constantly under foot, literally, keeping Teaspoon very busy. He watched the children while Lou and Kid went about doing the chores and trading the horses. As much as being busy was good for the business, the young couple missed each other terribly. Finally getting some time alone meant everything to them.

The rest of their family returned Sunday afternoon and Abby was full of information for her parents. Rachel and Teaspoon had begun telling her the stories about the Pony Express and explain to her what the way station had been. Abby was totally amazed by the adventures her parents and uncles had had there. The bunkhouse still stood and Abby was most intrigued by that. Rachel would usually rent it out to boarders or people passing through so Abby had never been allowed in it. She searched every inch of it and found everything to be to her liking. She told her parents all about what she had seen, not connecting the fact that they had lived there before she was born with the stories about them.

By the end of May school had let out for the year and Rose's first birthday was fast approaching. Her baby words were beginning to disappear and the first one everyone recognized was "Bee" which she said while pointing at Abby. She also had down "Ma" and "Da" for her parents. Teaspoon and Rachel were not part of her vocabulary yet, though she certainly knew both of them well. She was also walking shakily and had a few teeth in. Abby's first year of school had ended happily. She read well and liked her little sister a little more when her name became her first word. The business slowed down to it's normal pace and Lou and Kid had a minute to breathe.

One afternoon Abby went outside to play while Lou and Teaspoon were inside trying to clean up Rose who had thrown up after lunch. It was humid and she was cutting her teeth, so this event had become a daily ritual. Lou kept an eye on Abby through the window while she dressed Rose. She took her eye off Abby for a minute and when she looked back up she saw Abby walking up to a man who was coming toward the house, scaring Lou senseless. Abby was so used to people coming to the house to trade horses that she knew everyone in Rock Creek and the neighboring towns. She had no fear of strangers, which could be an aggravating feature at times like that.

"Hi! Are you my Uncle Jimmy?" Abby asked looking up at the man who stood in her path.

"Well, I think that all depends on who you are," the man said crouching down to get a good look at the young girl in front of him.

"My name is Abby McCloud. You look like my Uncle Jimmy. I've never met him, but you look like the man who's sitting next to my Mommy in her picture," Abby declared firmly, sizing up the man's face with her memory.

"What picture is that?"

"The one in her room. It's of the day my Mommy and Daddy got married. There's my Mommy, my Daddy, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Cody, Uncle Buck, Uncle Noah, and Uncle Jesse, and you. You're sitting next to my Mommy and my Uncle Noah."

Jimmy smiled broadly at the thought of the one picture that Lou and the Kid had insisted on taking of their wedding. They wanted a family portrait to commemorate that part of their lives. At the time they had no idea how much it would come to mean to them. It was their last memory of everyone together. They had told Abby all the stories about the people in the picture so many times she knew them all by heart.

"Then I guess that makes me your Uncle," Jimmy said laughing, surprised at how smart the young girl was and how unafraid she was to say something.

"Abigail Louise!! Don't run off like that again! You scared me out of my mind!" Lou exclaimed once she was close to her daughter. She was slowed down because she was holding Rose on her hip, once she reached the pair she said, "I'm really sorry. She knows better than to run off like this."

"That's all right. Gave me a chance to get to know her. Reminds me a whole lot of you, Lou," Jimmy said grinning at his friend.

"Jimmy!! I don't believe it!" Lou exclaimed, almost dropping Rose out of her arms.

"You don't want to drop that little one, do you?" he asked reaching out to help hold up Rose. "How have you been?"

"How can you ask me something like that after six years? What are you doing here? When...?" Lou could barely get the words out of her mouth. The shock of Jimmy showing up out of the blue was almost more than she could take.

"I've been around for a couple days, but I didn't want to come over. I wasn't sure how you'd take it. I guess I should have come sooner."

"Of course you should have! Does Rachel know you're here? Where are you staying?"

"I was over at Rachel's this morning. She sent me over here so fast I hardly had a chance to sit down. She told me you'd all want to see me."

"Of course we do. I can't believe you're here! I guess I should introduce you to my daughters," Lou said adjusting Rose again, still flustered by his sudden appearance.

"I've met Abby already."

"I gathered. Anyway, this is Rose," Lou said smiling at the baby who was very interested in the new man in her life. She was already trying to get him to hold her, throwing out her arms and smiling her semi-toothed smile.

"How old is this one?" Jimmy asked taking the baby out of her mother's arms.

"She'll be a year in a couple weeks."

"A year? Well, that's something. You got any more kids you're hiding around here? I thought you'd have at least five or six by now."

"These two are the only ones so far."

"Where's the Kid? I'm surprised he'd leave you alone out here," Jimmy commented as they headed toward the house. He wasn't joking with her, though that was what she thought. It boggled his mind to think that the man who panicked when she went out on a run would now leave her alone, miles from town, with two young children.

"He's over in Allens Town. He'll be back by dinner. Besides, I'm not alone. Teaspoon's in the house and probably thinks that I've lost my mind right now the way I ran out of the house."

"Rachel mentioned he was around, but I didn't think he was here."

"Sure. He's been living with us for about four years. He's the girls grandfather and they love him to death. I'm surprised Rachel didn't tell you about it before."

"I'm sure she did, but I hardly ever get mail any more. What I do get is so outdated I don't know what's gone on since. I've been moving around a lot the last few years. I never really found a place that suited me."

There was something about Jimmy's tone that told Lou he was lying through his teeth to her. She knew he had probably moved a lot, but for some reason she could not believe that Jimmy hadn't known Teaspoon was living with them. He had been there for so long that Rachel would have told him at some point and back then he would have at least gotten the letter. Not knowing about Teaspoon would have been like saying he didn't know about Abby. There was no way that was possible. He had written to congratulate them on the birth, saying he hoped to be able to see her the following spring. He never explained why, but he hadn't returned to Rock Creek to see his niece at all.

In fact, he had not returned to Rock Creek once in almost six years; at least not that Lou knew of. The absence didn't strike her as all that strange. After reading his letter, Lou lifted the general meaning out of it. He wasn't going to come back, no matter what he might have intended to do. You don't write a letter like that and act like nothing ever happened. It was impossible. Even though so many years had passed, Lou got the impression that Jimmy's mind was still back in the days when she had first been married.

Once the greetings between Jimmy and Teaspoon were over Rose was put down for a nap and Abby was taken outside to play, under much protest. She was fascinated by her new uncle and did manage to spend a few extra minutes clinging to her mother. After some pleading, though, she did elicit a promise from Jimmy that he would come and say good bye to her before he left. Finally, Lou and Jimmy were alone to talk about everything that had gone on in the last six years.

"I've sure missed you," Lou said as they sat down in the living room. "Why haven't you been back in so long?"

"Well, running from a reputation like mine doesn't give you too much time to make social calls," Jimmy said bitterly. "Sorry about that. Living the way I have for so long can take the manners right out of you."

"That's all right. When the time's right, you'll tell me. So, for now, we'll talk about something else. I guess you'd like to hear about your nieces wouldn't you?"

"I would actually. I know I said I'd come see Abby, but I guess I got sidetracked. Lou, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time. I should have done it a long time ago, but I didn't know how. I want to explain to you why I wrote you that letter while you and Kid were gone."

"Jimmy..." Lou began, but he interrupted her before she got past his name.

"No, I need to tell you why I wrote it. I meant every word I said in it, at the time. I'm hoping you never showed it to the Kid or he's going to want to kill me as soon as he sees me."

"I never even told him about it. There were days when I thought about it, but I never wanted to hurt him that badly. Besides, you wrote it to me, not him."

"That means a lot to me, Lou. I figured enough time had passed since I left that any bad feelings between us might have gone away. When I wrote you that letter I guess I was angry with you. I saw you and Kid going off and having a life that I could never see myself as a part of. It was the kind of life I had hoped I could give someone, but seeing you two get married made me realize that wasn't going to happen. I was right about one thing though, you sure are a good mother," Jimmy said breathing a sigh of relief after relieving his burden.

"That's probably the nicest thing I ever heard you say, Jimmy. I know wasn't easy for you to say all that," Lou said, grateful that he had at least given her an explanation of what was going on back then. "I think you can still give some deserving lady the kind of life you want. You never know, she might be around here. So you'll have to stay for a little while."

"Heh, you sure haven't lost your touch. I promise you I'll stay around as long you can put up with me."

"We can put up you through dinner tonight at least. Kid will love to see you."

"Maybe you should tell him I'm here before he actually sees me. It might be easier."

"Jimmy, everything that happened between you two was over a long time ago. Kid wanted to talk to you when we came home, but you'd already left. He understands it wasn't your fault or Rosemary's. I think he just wants you back in our lives. He always regretted you not seeing the girls. I suppose you're not interested in staying here, though?"

"I don't want to impose on you. This house seems to be bursting at the seams already from what I can see. Anyway, Rachel made me promise to come back and see her tonight. I think she'll try to talk me into staying at her house. She probably thinks I'm sleeping on the cold, hard ground," Jimmy said laughing a little. He knew Rachel wanted him there in order to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get into trouble, or cause any for that matter.

"At least you can stay for a little while now."

The time passed quickly and Lou got little more information out of Jimmy. He mostly avoided any questions Lou would sneak in about what he had been doing for the last few years. He tried to concentrate on his nieces and what had been going on in their lives. Of course, that was an easy topic to stay focused on once Abby and Teaspoon came back inside. Abby planted herself on the sofa next to her uncle and was mesmerized by him. A couple of hours later Jimmy finally insisted on leaving to head back to Rachel's before it got too late.

"What did Jimmy have to say?" Teaspoon asked while they ate dinner.

"He told me pretty much everything he told you. He's been wandering around for the last few years and that's all there is to it. At least that's all I could get out of him."

"There's something strange about him. He ain't telling us something. I don't know what it is, but I know something's wrong with him."

"I got that feeling too. He'll tell us when he's ready. At least, I hope he will," Lou said sadly, frustrated that her friend was holding back from her and worried that the Kid had not returned home yet.

They finished dinner in silence, not wanting to keep talking about a subject they could not find answers for. Abby, who was eternally curious about Jimmy, so Lou brought out the old picture and told her a few of the stories behind the people in it. Those were Abby's favorite bedtime stories and that night she had as many as she could take before falling asleep. Rose had been surprising quiet that night and Lou checked on her repeatedly. Each time she checked Rose was fine and sometimes had a smile on her face, apparently content with whatever she was dreaming about at the moment.

Kid was still not home when Lou went to bed and she was worried sick about him. Not since they had been married had he been gone for so long without Lou having known about it beforehand. She fought to stay awake, but all the excitement of Jimmy coming had taken a lot out of her and she was sound asleep rather quickly. When she woke up a little while later it was to the Kid kissing her cheek.

"What time is it?" Lou asked yawning.

"It's late. I got back as soon as I could. I got held up in Springfield, but I got some nice horses. I didn't mean to wake you up," Kid whispered as he lay down next to her.

"That's all right. I've got something to talk to you about," Lou said turning over to look at him.

"Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"Well, it could, but this is something I want to talk to you about while we're both awake and alone."

"You're not going to make Rose a big sister, are you?"

"If you're trying to ask me if I'm pregnant again, the answer is no. I think we need to wait until Rose is a little bit older before we think about expanding our family again," Lou said laughing at him. Every time she told him there was something she wanted to tell him, he had come to assume that it meant she was having a baby. Before Lou got another word out Rose began hollering in the next room. "I'll get her."

"Come here Little Rose," Lou said picking up her daughter, "You don't want to wake up your sister."

"Is she all right?" Kid asked when Lou returned with the baby.

"She's fine. She slept all afternoon, but I think she has a new tooth coming in. This is probably going to be a long night. I'll take her downstairs so she doesn't wake up Abby and Teaspoon. Do you know where we put that stuff Teaspoon came up with for her?" Lou asked heading out the door. Teaspoon had come up some kind of recipe for Rose's gums that seemed to work well enough to make her stop crying and take away the pain.

"We left it in the kitchen. I'll get it, you stay in here," Kid said getting up. He returned a few minutes later with a small bottle full of something that smelled terrible.

"I don't believe we're really going to put this in her mouth," Lou said repositioning Rose on her lap and trying not to smell the concoction in the bottle.

"Lou, it works and it's the only thing that's made her stop crying. Just try to hold her still for a minute," Kid said as he put a few drops on his daughter's gums. She stopped crying after a minute and looked happy that the pain was gone. "You see? She doesn't mind."

"For someone who never had children, Teaspoon seems to know a whole lot about taking care of babies," Lou said handing Rose to her husband and taking the bottle downstairs.

"There was something you wanted to tell me before Rose started crying, what was it?" Kid asked once they were back in bed.

"Oh yeah, Jimmy was here today."

"Jimmy Hicock? You're not serious," Kid said sitting up.

"Yes I am. He came here today. He's staying at Rachel's. I tried to get him to stay here until you got home, but he was worried about seeing you."

"What? Why?"

"I think he still thinks you're angry about what happened to Noah," Lou said quietly, wondering if the Kid would forget about his decision to forgive Jimmy at the mention of his friend's name.

"Oh. Well, I can understand why he'd think that. He's been gone for so long he never really gave me a chance to talk about it. Is he going to come back?"

"I think he will. Abby was in love with him. He wants to talk to you, I think seeing the girls made him realize what he's missed out on for the last few years. At least I hope he'll come back. Rachel will probably talk him into it coming back even if he didn't want to."

"Sounds like tomorrow is going to be a long day then. It'll be good to see him," Kid said happy to know Jimmy was still out there somewhere. He had wondered more than once why Jimmy had left and why he had stayed away for so long. Of course, Kid had learned a long time ago trying to get information out of Jimmy could be hard, especially when he didn't want you to know something. Just seeing him would be enough for the time being.

To Be Continued...Chapter V

Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author

The Way Station
Campfire Tales

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