Untainted Devotion

Lou grabbed Stacy's arm, "Wait, how are we going to get across town to the horses?" They stopped for a moment, making sure to watch their backs.

"We'll go one at a time." Stacy replied. She ducked behind a tree, Lou right at her heels. "I'll go first, then when I see that it is safe, I'll signal you on."

The plan sounded good, but Lou was still worried that something might go wrong. She didn't think that she could handle seeing her friend shot in front of her eyes if she were spotted. "Let me go first."

Stacy turned to her, and shot a look of extreme disapproval. "You're the married one, so I'm going first." Then without another word on the subject, Stacy took off across the town and went to grab the reins to their horses. But then, as if in a dream, she saw the last person that she had ever expected to see standing before her.

Kid didn't have to think about what he needed to do in order to be ready for his ride. Mechanically he went upstairs, changed his clothes, and grabbed some food supplies from the kitchen. His thoughts never shifted from what kind of danger that Lou might be in. If anything ever happened to her I'd.... No, he wasn't going to finish the thought, he couldn't. He was going to find her, and she was going to be safe.

Taking their newest horse from the barn, he saddled and prepared to mount. One of their friends from town came around every morning to help see to the horses, so that was one less thing that he would have to worry about. Not having a second thought, Kid took off in the same direction which he had arrived back from. There was only one woman on his mind......

"Buck! Buck Cross!" Stacy choked on her own words. She might have expected to see many men before she saw him. In fact, she wasn't sure if she was really seeing him before her, or if it was a hopeful dream.

He looked equally surprised at her presence. "Stacy!?"

She felt relief at the fact that he really was there, and then she remembered Lou was anxiously waiting for her. "Oh my gosh, Lou!"

Buck grabbed her arm, "Wait, you mean Lou is here too?" He looked puzzled. He hadn't heard or seen Kid and Lou for many weeks, and the thought that she might be here too excited him.

"Buck I'll explain later, but we're in a lot of trouble here. Someone is trying to kill us," she blurted out in haste.

"What? Who?" He questioned, now becoming quite worried as to why they might be there.

Stacy pulled his hand from her arm and made sure that the men were still nowhere in sight. They must have been searching around the back of the buildings, not expecting that the women would have made it clear across town. "I'll explain later, just stay here, please!"

"Louise!" Stacy whispered, not seeing her friend anywhere around. "Louise, come on, I found help."

Just then Lou came out of her hiding spot and her eyes lit up, "Thank goodness! Where?"

Stacy grabbed her friend's arm, not responding, and pulled her along. "Come on."

As they came closer to their horses, Lou squinted, almost recognizing the figure standing there. It took her a few moments before she was able to see his face and take off running into his arms. "Buck! Oh, I am so glad to see you!"

He returned the greeting, before giving his attention back to Stacy. "Now, what's wrong?" He begged.

"Let's just get out of here and we'll explain later," Stacy pleaded.

Having no other alternatives at present, Buck mounted and waited for the girls to do the same. In moments they took off outside of town, leaving two men searching and wondering where their whereaboutswas able to muster.

Knowing that things were starting to seem more hopeful, Lou and Stacy leaned back and rested from their horrendous day. They couldn't completely relax though, after all the men that were after them were still out there somewhere, and more than likely they would still be after them in the morning.

James Hickok strolled down the streets of the small town. He had no particular destination, he just knew that he had to get out of Cody's presence. The man was driving him nuts with all of his talk about the army and the war. Jimmy wasn't sure if it was the realization that people that he was closest to would be fighting against each other, or if he was so full of pride that he didn't want to be degraded by wearing some military uniform and being a 'number' in the army.

Or was he afraid of himself, afraid of what he might become were he to fight? He wasn't sure. Without thinking, he walked into the town's saloon and sat down on the barstool. Well this will be a first, he told himself. It ain't even 10 in the morning.

A saloon girl, probably a couple of years younger than Jimmy himself, walked over to him and took a seat. "Give me what he's got," she told the bartender.

Jimmy didn't pay much attention to her. He knew their type. She probably wanted to know if he was the famed gunfighter that had killed 'X' number of men. "I'm not him." He said, not turning to look at her.

She nodded and looked at the bubbling drink that was set before her. "What is this stuff?"

He laughed, "Don't drink it, it's probably too strong for you."

The girl pushed the drink away and moved herself around to face him. He looked pale and the lines under her eyes lead her to believe that he probably hadn't slept in days. "I just thought you might need a friend."

Yeah, I know what kind of friend you're looking for. Unamused by her offer, Jimmy stood up and walked over to one of the tables. Another waitress came over and took his order......a cheese sandwich. He couldn't help but notice that the girl didn't take her eyes off of him. That wasn't uncommon though, and normally it didn't bother him. But today, it did. You're slipping, Hickok. Your thoughts of another woman are causing you to be blind. There's a beautiful woman over there who's had her eyes on you. Why aren't you even interested? Deep down and whether he wanted to admit it or not, he knew why.

Kid sat up, the sun was blaring in his eyes, and his instant thought was anger......he'd over slept! Hastily he grabbed his things and prepared to ride out, yet once again.

As he was saddling his horse, two men rode by. They looked like rough and rugged men who were on a desperate mission. "Howdy." One of them shouted to Kid and tipped his hat.

"Mornin'." Kid replied turning back to his work at hand.

The men stopped right up alongside him, "You haven't happened to see two young ladies traveling alone, have you?"

Two ladies? Kid shook his head quickly. "I'm alone and it has been that way since I left my home. Ain't seen nobody."

Whispering something to each other, Kid strained his ears to listen. At least if those were the men that had sent the message, they hadn't found Lou and Stacy yet. That meant that there still might be a chance for him to bring them out of this before something happened.

Without another word, they took off riding and didn't give Kid a second look. He eyed them distrustfully as he watched them leave. His eyes narrowed and his lips were pursed. In one swift movement, he mounted and took off with the morning sun on the horizon, and his determination on the rise.

"Where's Stacy?" Lou began a frantic search around their campsite, but found nothing. Her horse was gone, and she had left a few of her belongings behind.

Buck sat up straight at the woman's panicked tone. He reached for his gun and placed his hat on, ready to ride. "I don't see her."

Lou began gathering her things. She didn't care about what happened to her now, her friend's safety was her main concern. If Stacy had taken off and those men found her, she'd be killed for sure. Lou wasn't about to lose another member of her family.

In the hustle that Lou was stirring by her rapid movement, Buck began to pack his things as well. "Lou, where do you think you're going?"

With expressionless features Lou replied. "I'm going to find her."

Stacy didn't have a clue where it was that Cody resided, or if she was even in the right area. As she rode through town, she was oblivious to the yelling and whistles that were being thrown her way. On a normal day, she would have found some wisecrack to throw back at them, or at least a contemptible glare.

Searching the streets, there was a sign that she easily recognized. There was only one man that she knew of that owned a horse like the one that was tied up across the street.

The girl who had been so diligent in watching Jimmy, could finally take his silence no longer. She was enthralled with his outward looks, and the familiarity of his face. Somewhere she had seen a face like that......but where? Was it on a WANTED poster or something?

Gracefully she weaved her way around the empty tables, and took a seat beside him.

"You really don't give up do you?" He said studying her face for the first time. Her dress, hair, and dark eyes reminded him of Lou, and that time when she had assumed such a position in a saloon as well.

"Excuse me," A soft voice interrupted his thoughts and the visitor tapped the saloon girl's shoulder. "He won't be needing your company right now."

Jimmy looked up and saw a face that actually brought tears to his eyes, and the only woman apart from Lou who had the ability to bring him to his knees in an instant. "Stacy?"

The trail towards the town seemed never-ending. Lou, with much reluctance, kept at a slow pace with Buck's urging. He tried to convince her that they really wouldn't get there that much faster if they ran their horses at full speed. The brush was thick, and the path wound left and right in a constant snake pattern.

Ahead of them approached another rider. Buck drew his gun defensively and kept it close to his side. He placed himself in front of Lou, and for the first time that he had known her, she didn't resist the action of someone taking her defense in such a way. She was, after all, unarmed.

Lou's eyes lit up when she was able to recognize the horse, and the rider. "Buck, put it away!" Before he could see what was happening, Lou jumped for her saddle and ran to the man who had also done the same thing. "Kid!" She screamed, her eyes now flooded with tears.

He welcomed her with open arms and she ran to them. "Lou." He whispered as he clutched her tightly. "Why did you lie to me?" Kid said, not forgetting his frustration with her earlier.

She burrowed her face in his shirt, "I'm sorry, Kid. I just knew how much you would worry, and Stacy needed my help. It was wrong. Can you forgive me?" Her voice was pleading. She could never bear it if she thought that he might not trust her again.

Kid thought about it for a moment, and the fact that she was safely in his arms seemed to outweigh her wrongful act. "Of course I forgive you. I was just afraid that something serious had happened." Stepping back he examined her for any outward signs of injury, trying not to make it look obvious.

"I'm fine." She smiled, knowing what he was doing.

"Still, I like to see for myself."

By this time, Buck had made his way over, Lou's horse right behind his own. "Nice to see you, Kid." He said extending his hand.

Kid took it and then hugged his friend, "You too, Buck. Too bad it isn't under better circumstances." He looked around for the one other traveler that was missing. "Where's Stacy?"

Lou's face fell downcast, and Kid realized that the news must not be good. "She's run off somewhere. We have a pretty good idea of where she went, but there are two men after us, so if she's been caught......" Her voiced trailed off.

"Wait, two men after you?" Kid said, his concern rising once again.

"Yes, they're tied in with that same bunch that killed Stacy's brother." She said regretfully.

Kid rested his hands on his hips, an natural position when he was deep in thought. "Then we better find a way to get her to safety."

Stacy? The words seemed to linger in the air. She was really there, in front of him. Her dirty face and stained clothes doing nothing to stop her radiance, or angelic appearance from shinning through.

In her mind, Stacy had been rehearsing for days the anger that she would lash out at Jimmy. She even knew the words that she was going to spit out at him. Instead, she found herself staring into his piercing eyes, and her knees became weak......exactly what happened to her when the met for the first time. "Can I sit down?" She motioned towards the chair opposite him.

"Sure." He said, still not believing that she was here.

The girl who had been sitting next to Jimmy sat there shocked. She didn't know how Jimmy could be attracted to such a dirty girl, when she sat there with a low-neckline dress and smelled as pretty as flower garden in the spring.

Stacy stared at the girl for a moment. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time," she said calmly but firmly. "He won't be needing your company."

Curling her lip, the girl looked to Jimmy who opened his arms and shrugged. "Better leave while you're still ahead."

Throwing her skirts down, she stood up, making sure that the chair was slammed back in its place. "I don't have to take this, I'm just doing my job." she said storming out.

"Maybe it's time you got a new one." Stacy mumbled to herself.

Neither one of them knew what to say. Stacy helped herself to what was left of Jimmy's sarsaparilla and then rested her elbows on the table. He just sat in silence, unable to take his eyes off of her tender expression. After he had just left her without a word of explanation, she came back to him and was able to remain civil.

Little did he know that the longer he remained silent, the more the fuel was being poured on her fire. His actions and behaviors now proving to her that the past few months that they had spent together had meant nothing to him. Their relationship was nothing more than another game to him. She could take the torment no longer, and refused to let him ruin the rest of her life.

Jimmy, on the other hand was not prepared for what she was about to say, and had he spoken his true feelings a lot sooner, he would have saved them both from a lot of heartache.

"Well, aren't you going to say something," Stacy started, "Tell me that it's all over, that we're washed up." Jimmy opened his mouth to speak, but she rested her palms flat on the table. "No, save it. I don't want to hear it, Jimmy. Why couldn't you have told me yourself? Can't you give me some credit? I mean I know I'm a woman, and we don't exactly have equal rights, but I honestly don't think that you have the freedom to do what you did to me! You could have hurt me in a lot of ways James Butler Hickok, but I never thought you're gunfighting reputation would interfere with our relationship."

"What does that mean?" He asked, growing defensive.

She had been saving up for this one. Oh how she'd dreamed of this last sentence, the one that she would use when she was to look into his eyes for the last time......before she had the pleasure of walking out. "You've got yourself so well trained to knock a bottle off of a fence, shoot the center out of a dime, split cans in the sky, and it just so happens that with this round you took that fancy six-shooter of your's, aimed it at my heart and hit dead center. It's probably the best bullseye shot you've ever made in your life."

Stacy pushed her chair back and didn't pick it up when it fell over. "Goodbye, Hickok. Go do your target practice on some other girls heart. This girl isn't playing the target anymore."

Taking her hand up to her neck, she searched for the gold chain which held the one thing of sentiment that he had given her since their engagement......a delicate gold locket. She pulled the chain, flinching slightly as it pinched her neck, snapping free. Stacy held it in front of him letting it swing for a moment before dropping it carelessly on the table. "Take it back, Mr. Hickok, I don't want it anymore. Inside you will find two things, one a picture of a man who's memory will always remain with me, and the other is the picture of a man who's love and face is nothing more than a shadow and shell of the man I once knew. You're smart enough, figure out which is which."

Tossing her hair as she wheeled around, and never wanting to see him again, she failed to see one of the few times that James Hickok had ever shed a tear. His hands were shaking slightly from the scene he had just witnessed.

Reluctantly he lifted the locket up in his hands and carefully opened it to reveal two perfectly trimmed pictures one on each side......the first one being a face that he knew immediately to be her brother. Almost afraid to look at what was tucked in the other side, he was sickened by a harsh reality when he forced himself to stare into the image. It was the image of the shell of a man whom she had described......it was none other than an image of himself.

To be continued…Chapter VIII

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The Way Station
Campfire Tales

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