As Lou stood dripping wet in the shower, her towel in one hand and her gun in the other, her heart sank , and she dropped her gun to her side.

Ross was staring at her with incredulity. "Oh my God. You're one of the riders aren't you?" Lou didn't even look at him, but stared sullenly at the ground. Ross yelled, "Answer me!"

Lou looked up and glared. "I'll answer you if you don't mind letting me get dressed first." She snapped.

Ross, in his shock, hadn't even thought about it. He nodded. "I'll be waiting inside."

After he left, Lou pulled on her clothes automatically. She didn't know what to do and her thoughts were racing. She glanced up and saw Rachel's light was on. Lou fought an overwhelming desire to run over there and ask for Rachel's help but she knew she couldn't do that. She gathered her things and went to the bunkhouse where Ross was waiting. He was standing with his back to the door, and he turned when she came in.

"So you're a woman dressed like a man, riding for the Express?" He asked. "How long did you think you could get away with it?"

"Question is," Lou retorted, "How long do you think you can keep women out of the Express with unfair and downright stupid rules?"

Ross turned red. "Women can't ride because they're not fit for the job. It's for your own good."

Lou's eyes flashed. "I don't need you to tell me what's for my own good. I've delivered mail for the Express for almost a year now and I've done a damn good job."

"Well your service has just come to a halt." Ross told her.

Lou felt like someone was choking her. "You're firing me?"

"You're damn right I'm firing you!" Ross yelled. "I'm going to fire everybody at this Godforsaken station!"

Lou's eyes opened wide. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Ross asked.

Lou shook her head trying not to panic. "Teaspoon and the boys, they don't know."

Ross looked at her dubiously. "You mean to tell me you've managed to keep this a secret all this time? That's impossible."

Lou glared at him. "It's true. You fire them and you'll be shooting yourself in the foot."

Ross was staring at her intently. Lou returned his stare defiantly. Then she noticed his gaze traveling down her figure, and then up again. She flushed in anger, then watched him in outrage as he reached out and touched her hair.

She slapped his hand away. "What do you think you're doing?" When he didn't answer, Lou began to back away but Ross grabbed her arms and continued to stare at her.

"You know, you're actually very pretty - beautiful in fact. I don't see how you've done it." He said, and his eyes had a calculating look.

Lou struggled to break free of his grasp but he held on tight. "Listen, I want to strike a deal with you." She said. "Fire me, and I'll go away and never come back. Just let Teaspoon and the boys keep their jobs, all right?"

"You'd be willing to do that?" Ross asked.

"Do we have a deal?" Lou asked.

Ross let go of her and turned away to look out the window. Lou watched him with a mixture of infuriating anger, fear and extreme sadness. Finally he turned around. "I'll let the station continue, as it is, on one condition." He said. "I want you to marry me."

Lou simply stared. She thought she had misunderstood him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Ross said coolly.

Lou shook her head. "I don't believe this. I am not going to marry you."

Ross went up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Although he held her tight, she didn't flinch. "Now listen up. If you don't agree, I'm going to make sure Teaspoon and all your friends in this outfit never have a job in this territory again. Do you understand me?"

"You're lyin'!" Lou said, hoping that this was just a bad dream.

Ross shook his head. "No I'm not. I have a lot of friends out here who wouldn't think twice about killing a man for me."

Lou looked into his crazy eyes in fear. "Why are you doing this?"

Ross smiled. "I'm doing you a favor. What else are you going to do now, scrub floors, if you're lucky? Besides, I'll treat you nice, don't worry." He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. "I've been wanting some company and I think we can work out an arrangement that makes us both happy."

Lou shook her head, about to say no. She knew the boys would never ask her to do this. But Ross started shaking her, and then he threw her up against the wall, holding her there so her feet weren't even touching the floor.

"Now look," He snarled, "I know you're not stupid. So you know that impersonating an Express rider is a violation of the law. I could even get your neck in a noose if I really felt like it. So I don't know what else I can say to convince you. Death, or marriage, which is it going to be?"

"Hmm, that's a tough one." Lou glared. "I think I might prefer death."

He backhanded her, sending her flying to the floor. "Well that depends on you and how you want things to be." Ross said. "Now I'm a reasonable man. When I get what I want, I'm happy. But when you cross me, I'll be sure to make you and your friends regret it." A smile slowly flickered across his thin lips. "In fact, you almost made me forget what I came back here to do. You know that Rachel is a truly delectable woman. I think I have to have a taste." He moved towards the door.

Lou realized he was absolutely serious and in horror she stopped him from leaving to go see Rachel. She didn't know who this Clyde Ross was, but there was certainly more to him than just an Express inspector, and Lou had no doubt that his threats against her family were made in earnest. The pain in her cheek was nothing compared to the sudden pain in her heart. "What do you have in mind?"

Ross smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way."

Lou couldn't sleep hardly at all the whole night. Even when she fell into an exhausted sleep, she had terrible nightmares that would leave her in a cold sweat. Rachel gasped when she saw her in the morning. "Lou! What happened to you?"

Lou managed a wan smile. "Rough ride."

"I guess." Rachel frowned in concern, handing her some coffee. "I left my light on last night. I was hoping you'd come by so we could talk."

"I wanted to." Lou told her, "But I was so tired, I was almost asleep on my feet. How come you weren't at the social anyway?"

Rachel shrugged. "Oh I don't know." She added confidentially, "Just between you and me, I didn't want to be around Ross."

"Why not?" Lou asked, her heartbeat quickening.

Rachel frowned and shivered. "I don't know. It's nothing obvious, I just have a bad feeling about him that's all. Let's just say, be glad he doesn't know you're a woman."

Lou started choking on her coffee. Rachel was at her side in alarm. "Are you sure you're all right?"

She nodded, getting up. "Fine. I'm just really tired."

At that moment the boys began to filter into the kitchen. "Morning Rachel. Morning Lou." They all grumbled.

"Hey, Lou, I hope you and Ross managed to avoid each other last night." Buck said.

Rachel frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"He snuck away from the dance." Noah told her. "We tried keeping an eye on him, but suddenly he was gone. We figured he probably went to the saloon, but we couldn't find him anywhere."

Lou sighed, "Yeah, well I ran into him last night."

They all stopped and stared at her. "What?" Kid asked. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

Lou managed to smile. "Oh everything's fine. He seems like a real nice man." She headed for the door, unable to take much more, "Don't worry. He doesn't suspect a thing."

"Lou where are you going?" Jimmy asked.

"To tend to my horse…" She said over her shoulder.

The boys and Rachel looked at one another in surprise. "Well, that's a relief." Noah said. "All that worrying for nothing."

Jimmy frowned as he sat down with the others to eat. He could tell something was wrong with Lou. And that made him uneasy.

Lou stopped short once she reached the barn when she saw Ross waiting for her. "Good morning Lou. Or is it Louise? What's the matter, didn't sleep well?"

"Is it any wonder?" She snapped.

Ross shook his head. "Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your fiancé?"

"I can't lie to them." Lou told him. "I can't go through with this."

Ross smiled coldly. "Well, unless you want them all to lose their jobs, or even their lives, on your account, you'd better get used to our arrangement."

Lou shook her head, "I can't marry a man I don't love."

Ross walked over to her and caressed her cheek. Then, moving his hand back behind her ear, he suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled down, forcing her to look up at him. "Oh, Louise, such the romantic. You don't have to love me. You just have to obey me." He bent down and kissed her, still gripping her hair.

When he pulled back, he noticed the distaste on her face and his lips curled into a tight smile. "You'll get used to me Louise. Your friends' lives depend on it."

He walked out of the barn, leaving her shaking with anger and fear. She went over to her horse and began to tend to him, trying to stop her hands from trembling. She didn't even notice Jimmy walk in.

"Lou!"

She jumped and turned around. "Jimmy! You scared me half to death!"

Jimmy looked at her with concern. "I said your name three times. Didn't you hear me? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She said brusquely. "Just didn't sleep well."

"Well, what'd you do, sleep with a burr in your bed, 'cause you seem about as prickly as one." The corners of Jimmy's mouth tugged into an endearing smile as he tried to tease her into a better mood, but Lou couldn't let her guard down, or else she knew she'd lose it all.

"Jimmy, I'm not in the mood for small talk." She said, turning her back on him to brush Lightning.

He nodded, a little stung by her attitude. "Well, I came to tell you that breakfast is ready and that Ross is leaving right afterwards so…"

"I'm not very hungry." Lou said.

"Lou-" Jimmy began.

"I said I'm not very hungry, Jimmy." She snapped. "Can't we just leave it at that?"

Jimmy looked at her in a mixture of anger and curiosity. "All right. If that's the way you want it." He turned and stormed out.

Now tears pricked at Lou's eyes. She wanted to run after him and throw herself into his arms and tell him and the others what Ross was making her do. She knew they wouldn't let it happen, though, which is why she couldn't ever tell them. Her heart heavy, she climbed onto Lightning and rode into town to buy some stationery. Ross wanted her to leave that night when everyone was sleeping. She was to meet him in Fort Dodge. He was allowing her to leave a note, and she had to decide what to say.

She rode out to where they had cremated Ike, and sat down on the ground. "I guess you're the one rider I can talk about this to, Ike." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just wish I could think of some way to get out of this." She shivered when she thought of his kiss and the thought of him touching her was unbearable. The thought of killing him crossed her mind and she shivered even more.

Taking deep breaths, she faced the blank piece of paper in front of her. What could she tell them? Very little. But she didn't want them to think she didn't care about them. She had to let them know how they were her only family left, and how she would do anything for them. Even marry Ross.

After an hour or so had passed, she finally put together a letter, dotted with the wet spots of her fallen tears. She folded it up and tucked it away in her jacket. Stiff, sore, tired and miserable, she headed back to the station.

"Where have you been?" Jimmy yelled when she finally got home and slid off her horse. She avoided him and led Lightning into the barn, but he followed her. Kid and Rachel weren't far behind.

"Lou!" Rachel scolded a bit more gently. "What has gotten into you? It's nearly noon and you haven't even started on your chores."

"Not to mention you missed sending Ross off." Kid added.

Lou had a pounding headache and she frowned trying to keep it at bay. She felt a little dizzy. "Like I told you, I wasn't hungry, and besides, I didn't want to give him another opportunity to find out my secret."

"Well to tell you the truth, I think he was more suspicious that you weren't there." Jimmy said.

Lou suddenly felt horribly sick. She saw Ross' face before her, angry with her for missing his sendoff. They were still talking to her, but Lou couldn't hear them anymore, she could only see their lips move. Ross' voice echoed in her head, instead, threatening her and her family.

"Lou!" Jimmy cried out as she suddenly swayed. He reached out and caught her just in time.

"Oh my God!" Rachel gasped. "She's fainted! Quick, get her into the house!"

By now almost frantic with worry, Jimmy scooped her up into his arms and brought her to Rachel's house.

Lou awoke with a start, sweat beading on her forehead. She sat up, disoriented. Kid saw her and immediately went to her side. "Lou!"

"What happened?" She asked groggily, gripping her head.

Rachel, who heard their voices, came in and sat down at her side. "You fainted."

Lou wrinkled her nose. "I've never fainted in all my life." She said in distaste.

"Well you just did." Rachel told her. "Probably because you're exhausted and hungry from not eating and sleeping the past couple days. Besides getting yourself all worked up over this inspection." She fussed with the blankets and then brushed Lou's hair back from her face in a motherly gesture. "But don't worry. We'll take care of you now. Just as long as everything's okay." She added, glancing at Kid.

Kid seemed hesitant to broach the subject. "Lou, you haven't been the same since you came back and Ross was here. Did something happen between you two?"

"No!" Lou answered a bit too quickly. She added, "Do you think I'd still be here if something happened?"

"Lou," Rachel said, "You can tell us. We're your family. You can tell us anything that's bothering you."

Lou smiled sadly, knowing she couldn't tell them this for their own good. "I guess I was just more nervous than I realized, about my job being on the line. It just got to me."

Kid nodded. "That long ride to Laramie probably didn't help."

Rachel smiled. "Well, you just rest yourself for the rest of the day and we'll get some food in you. How does that sound?"

"Actually Rachel I feel much better now," Lou insisted, starting to get up. "I can finish up my chores-"

Rachel stopped her, pushing her back into bed. "Oh no you don't. You need your rest young lady."

"But-" Lou tried to protest.

"No buts." Rachel said firmly. "Besides, the day will hardly be a waste. Now that I have you all to myself I thought we could look through some of my old things and see if anything fits you." She smiled. "Celebrate Mr. Ross' departure by being a girl for a day. How does that sound?"

Lou smiled, her heart breaking. "That sounds real good."

At dinner, everyone was exchanging curious and concerned glances towards Lou, who seemed to be back to her normal self except for her unusual silence. They noticed that she would sit while they talked and just look at them.

Noah felt a little self-conscious as he felt Lou's stare on him for at least a minute or two. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Lou snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, no, Noah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare."

"So when do we find out about our evaluation?" Cody asked. "Is Ross going to come back?"

Teaspoon shook his head. "Far as I know we already passed with flying colors."

"Well that wasn't so hard." Cody exclaimed. "We should celebrate."

Teaspoon hit the table with his hand. "Excellent idea, Cody. Tomorrow, we're all going out to supper, on me!"

Lou listened to everyone's exclamations and felt a melancholy happiness. She could honestly join in their celebration, knowing that the station would remain the way it was, minus one.

Later that night, Lou climbed down from her bunk and quietly gathered her things. She looked around the room and looked at each of the boys as they were sleeping. She walked over to Kid's bunk and couldn't resist touching his cheek. She knew how hurt he'd be to find her gone - she had tried to explain the situation in a separate letter to him. She pulled it from her pocket and lay it down by his pillow. She leaned over and kissed him. She stopped by Jimmy's bunk, too, and couldn't resist a light kiss to his cheek as well.

She left the other note on the kitchen table before going out to the barn where she had hidden the rest of her things. The night was cold and she shivered, feeling the chill seep into her bones. She felt a tug on her heart from the station as she rode away, but she squeezed her eyes shut and didn't dare look back; if she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave. Instead she galloped forward, letting the icy wind whip away her tears.

She arrived in Fort Dodge in a few hours, cold and stiff. She had been instructed to go to the hotel, where Ross' driver, a large man named Lincoln, would be waiting for her. He greeted her with a glare, grumbling about the late hour. After more warnings and threats, he showed her to her room. She thanked God she didn't have to face Ross that night, and after Lincoln left, she threw herself onto the bed and realized how empty she felt. She was too sad to cry and so alone she thought she would die.

Rachel walked into the kitchen in an unusually good mood. The sun was just beginning to burst over the horizon, spreading warm orange glows across the dark sky, and it cheered her just to look at such beauty. And, now that Ross was gone and the station had passed the inspection, she felt as though the strange tension that had infected everyone in the past few days would finally be gone.

As she began breakfast, cheerfully getting pots and pans down from the cupboards, her eyes caught the sheet of white paper on the table. She went over and started to read.

Her frown deepened when she recognized Lou's handwriting. Before she even read it, Rachel's heart sank, and she sat down, feeling a little sick. Quickly she scanned the contents, and her fears were confirmed.

She ran into the bunkhouse where the boys were just getting up and dressed. Jimmy quickly pulled up his pants as she burst in. "Rachel!"

Rachel ran over to Lou's bunk. "She's gone! Lou's gone!"

Kid frowned, finishing getting dressed. "What are you talking about?"

Rachel handed him the letter. "She left this on the kitchen table."

Kid read the note aloud, barely able to comprehend what he was saying:

To everyone, I'm sorry to leave without saying good-bye. I just got tired of pretending all the time. It wasn't a good thing for any of us, or the station. I want to thank all of you for treating me fair, and for giving me the best years of my life. You are all my family and I'll never forget you. It's just time for me to move on. Don't try to find me, please.

Love, Lou.

Everyone in the room stood in stunned silence. "I don't believe it." Buck said.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Noah asked.

Kid shook his head. "No, it's not a joke. She's really gone. Her things are all gone."

"Rachel!" It was Teaspoon, yelling from the kitchen, just as the smell of smoke wafted into the room.

"Oh my goodness!" Rachel exclaimed. "The stove!"

They all ran into the kitchen where Teaspoon was frantically fanning a small fire in the oven that Rachel had forgotten. Noah grabbed a blanket and beat the fire out. Teaspoon coughed and waved away the smoke. "What's going on around here?"

"We just got some bad news, Teaspoon." Rachel said, starting to clean up the mess.

Kid handed him the letter. "Lou's gone."

"What?" Teaspoon went over to the table and sat down, reading the letter. He seemed as perplexed as the others. "Is she serious?"

"Her things are all gone." Buck told him.

"And she was acting pretty strange yesterday." Jimmy remembered. "Besides, I don't think Lou would joke about something like this."

"But riding for the Express meant so much to her." Rachel said. "She told me that just before she left for her run the other day."

Teaspoon nodded, staring at the letter. "Something's not right about this, boys. I'm getting a bad feeling."

Rachel, who had started to make breakfast again, suddenly turned pale and turned around. Teaspoon's words had suddenly connected two separate thoughts together and she didn't like the outcome. "Bad feeling?"

They all looked at her, perplexed. "What is it, Rachel?" Buck asked.

She shook her head, feeling a little queasy at the idea that had just occurred to her. "I can't be sure, but I think Lou's leaving has something to do with Ross."

Buck shrugged, "Yeah, well his inspection made her nervous. She says that in the letter."

"No, I mean, I think Ross found out she was a woman and he forced her to leave." Rachel said.

"What?" Kid exclaimed. "Why didn't she mention it to us then?"

Rachel sighed, not wanting to try and explain her instincts about Ross to them. "Maybe he wouldn't let her."

"That doesn't sound like something Ross would do." Buck said. "Or that Lou would agree to."

Jimmy, however, was nodding slowly. "I think Rachel's right. Ross found out she wasn't a boy, then forced her to leave. That explains how she was acting yesterday, and why she left without saying goodbye."

Teaspoon was watching Rachel carefully. "Rachel, I have a hard time believing Ross would threaten Lou, unless you saw something in him that we didn't."

Noah, too, was watching Rachel, and he stood up. "Something did happen between you two in the kitchen that day! I knew it!" In explanation, he added, "Right before we rode out to the canyon, I came up here to find Ross standing over Rachel, kind of crowding her. It just didn't feel right to me. Dammit, Rachel, what did he do to you?"

Now all the boys were riled up. Rachel stood up and held out her hands to try and calm everybody down. "Boys, please, nothing happened between Ross and I." She sighed and tried to explain. "But I have to admit, I was sure glad Noah came by when he did. It didn't feel right to me either." She shivered just thinking about that strange encounter.

"Why didn't you say something?" Noah asked.

Rachel lay a grateful hand on his arm. "What was I going to say? That Ross made me nervous because we were in the same room together alone?" She turned to the others. "Still, my instincts are never wrong. I don't trust that man, and I don't put it past him to threaten Lou and run her off."

"We have to go find her." Kid said.

Teaspoon nodded. "All right. Kid, Buck, try and track her, then come back here and let us know what you find." He frowned, anxious to solve the mystery and to bring Lou back.

Lou sat on a bench on the boardwalk, vacantly staring at nothing in particular. She had met Ross early in the morning and since then he hadn't let her out of his sight. They had spent hours shopping, buying her new clothes. In other circumstances, Lou would have enjoyed buying all the new dresses, they were all beautiful, but now she just felt like a doll, or worse, a puppet. She was grateful that she had escaped Ross' company for a few minutes at least, although Lincoln was standing ominously nearby. She thought it was strange that a regional director would need a bodyguard, which was more or less what Lincoln was. In fact, Lou was certain that Clyde Ross was a dangerous con man, who was somehow using the Express for his own personal gain, but she didn't know how…yet.

She sighed, thinking again of her predicament. She didn't understand Ross, and why he was insisting that she marry him. It didn't take long for Lou to realize she wasn't going to last long in the relationship. Ross appeared more in need of a punching bag than a companion. Besides, Lou knew herself, and she knew she could never submit to marry someone like Ross, even with her friends at stake. No, she had to think of a way to protect Rachel and the boys, while at the same time saving herself. And so far, the only thing she could think of was murder.

A familiar voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "Lou? Is that really you?"

Lou snapped to attention in panic as she saw Amanda O'Connell, Teaspoon's adopted daughter, approaching her. "Amanda!" Lou looked over her shoulder to see Lincoln coming towards them menacingly.

Amanda looked incredulous to see Lou in her woman's attire. "What on earth are you doing here, and so dressed up? Are the boys around?"

Lou didn't know what to do and her mind raced to come up with a convincing lie. "I can't talk now Amanda. The boys and I, we're undercover."

Amanda nodded. "Well, can I help? Let me meet you later."

Lou shook her head, "No, it's best you don't get involved." She met Amanda's eyes and felt as though her friend could see right through her. For an instant, Lou wished she could give a hint to Amanda that she needed her help, but she knew it would be too dangerous. Lou knew Lincoln was right behind her, so she added, in a loud voice, "I'm sorry. You must have me confused with someone else." Lou felt Lincoln grab her arm, and he began leading her away.

Amanda was baffled. She watched as Lou allowed herself to be practically dragged to a waiting stagecoach. It was obvious Lou was lying, but why? Amanda walked into the store Lou had been sitting in front of, and watched carefully as the man who had escorted Lou to the stage came inside. He crossed to a large gentleman who had been talking politics with the store's owner. The two men left quickly, but not without a scathing look in her direction. She waited until the stage pulled away before approaching the owner.

"Excuse me," She said, her smile both pleasant and slightly seductive. "But I couldn't sworn that the gentleman you were just talking to is an old acquaintance of my husband's. Was his name Johnson, by any chance?"

The man shook his head. "No ma'am. That man there was Clyde Ross."

Amanda nodded and pretended to recognize the name. "Oh yes, Ross. I haven't seen him in years!"

The man smiled. "Well, it looks like you met up with him again at a good time, seeing as how he's about to be a groom."

Amanda's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Ross is getting married?" She gasped. "Son of a gun! Who's the lucky lady?"

"You might have seen her outside." The man said. "Real pretty thing, small, with short dark hair."

"Oh my goodness." Amanda heard herself say, as she recovered from shock. "I'll have to let my husband know. Do you know where they're headed? I'd like to try and catch up with them."

"They mentioned Hastings." He answered. "Although I can't be for certain."

Amanda smiled wanly and, after thanking the owner, stumbled outside in shock. Lou was getting married? She knew Lou was apt to take drastic measures when she and the boys went "undercover" as she had put it, but this was certainly too far. Besides, Lou didn't look like someone in control of a situation. She looked like she needed help.

Without further hesitation, Amanda jumped on her horse and galloped towards Sweetwater. It wasn't that far, and she had to get to the bottom of this mystery. She had a feeling Lou was in trouble, and she hoped she could help before it was too late.

Continue...