Cast Your Dreams to the Stars

By Kirsten
I just have to extend a quick ‘thank-you’ to Lady T, who helped me through this story! I was feeling pretty bummed about it, and was about to trash it in order to start from scratch. But then, (like an angel) she set aside some time to talk to me in order to give some positive suggestions. Thanks my dear!

Her eyes were cast upon the vast star-filled sky. The night air was refreshing, not chilly as it had been the past week. In the distance crickets were ringing out a tune that had no particular melody, other than it soothed all who listened. It was the kind of night in which one might imagine dreams would come true.

The two people walked in pleasing silence...her arm gently draped through his. Any viewer who stood gazing at them from a distance, might find it a lovely enough picture to paint. Two figures silhouetted by nothing but white light emanating from a crescent moon.

It seemed as if only a flickering instant had passed with each of them savoring every moment together, when in fact those precious seconds had spread themselves into an hour. “Jimmy?” She questioned softly, her gentle voice seeming to blend in with the night.

“Yes?” He said in a whisper. There was something about the beautiful night that caused them to keep their voices low and soft. It was almost the feeling that if you raised your tone just loud enough, it would shatter the sky and wake the heavens.

She looked back up at the stars once again. Selecting the one that twinkled the most, she closed her eyes and quickly made a wish. “Do you ever wonder where we’ll all be 10 years from now?”

It was not a surprise when the young lady asked him such a question. In fact, it was not even the first time or even that long ago that she had inquired as to his feelings on that very subject. It seemed as if every time she asked it, he found himself giving the same evasive answer, “Oh, I don’t know Lou. You’ll probably be married, have thirteen children, and be managing a pig farm,” he added with a chuckle.

Lou playfully pushed him away with a smirk, “Jimmy Hickok, you couldn’t resist, could you?” Although she never would have admitted it, she found it rather amusing to have him tease her in the serious times.

Jimmy smiled at her reaction and straightened his jacket. He cleared his throat as if the answer that he wanted to give made him uncomfortable. “To be truthful, yeah, I think about it all the time.”

She nodded understandingly, not wanting to force something out of him that might place them in an awkward position. With a swift movement, he drew their steady walk to a pause and raised his finger to the sky, “See that star up there?”

Trying her best to follow the line he was drawing for her, she searched the sky, “Jimmy, there are hundreds out there,” she replied, almost frustrated.

He lowered his arm and positioned her in front of him, “You mean you still can’t see it?” Jimmy leaned down so that he was level with her point of view. Gently he raised her chin so that she was perfectly lined up with the exact star that he was referring to. “It’s that one...the second brightest star.”

She finally spotted it, still rather confused, “What’s that star got to do with your future?”

Jimmy took her arm and continued walking. He waited for a while before he responded, “It’s got everything to do with it. You see, that’s the star that I’ve made my biggest wish on.”

Eyeing him curiously, she stopped. Hickok actually made wishes on stars? She thought that was the kind of thing that only women did. “What’s your wish?”

Smiling, he didn’t stop walking, “Oh no. Can’t tell you that, Lou. If I did, then it wouldn’t come true.”

Lou decided that it was probably best left alone for the moment. It was obvious that Jimmy wasn’t going to reveal his big secret any time soon, which was certainly the wisest course of action at the present.

The air was slowly beginning to get crisper, and she pulled her jacket closer around her. The two of them began to casually make their way back to the bunkhouse. It was, after all, getting late, and they didn’t want to cause too many suspicions to rise...not yet anyway.

Lou stopped and turned to Jimmy. “That was a lovely walk, thank you.”

He took her hand and planted a gentle kiss on the back of it. “You are very welcome,” Jimmy replied, trying to sound like a formal gentleman.

As soon as they walked in the door they were greeted by an excitable atmosphere. It was a complete opposite from the restful nighttime that they had just enjoyed together.

Kid looked up from his book, while the others glanced away from their cards. “You were sure gone a long time,” he said, not trying to sound as jealous as he was.

Lou smiled faintly and side-stepped the question perfectly, “I see that you guys have been keeping busy.”

“Great, except that Cody’s been stealing all my winnings,” Noah added with a laugh. He couldn’t believe how irritating the whole idea of being beaten in a stupid game of cards could be.

Kid wasn’t going to let this one go. He didn’t realize just how difficult breaking up with her was going to be...and seeing her doing things with Jimmy was the worst part of it all, even if it was all innocent. How could he blame her though, after all he’d hooked up with a girl only for it to end in a week.

No matter how he analyzed it he kept coming to the conclusion that there was something different about this situation, because it involved his best friend. “What’d you guys do?” He asked as inadvertently as possible.

Lou tossed her coat on her bunk and sat down with a sigh, “Oh, we were just out making wishes on the stars.”

“What’s that mean?” Kid asked wrinkling his brow in a sincere look of misunderstanding.

There was a brief smile between Jimmy and Lou before she replied, “Jimmy knows.”