The Lady and the Law
The words echoed in everyone's ears..."You're fired."
by Aimee
Chapter One
"Now Teaspoon...Aw, come on...you can't do that Teaspoon," the boys' protests filled the sweat lodge. Only Kid and Lou were quiet--Lou waiting to see what would happen, and Kid, looking completely lost. He and Lou were still very new to their relationship, but he honestly didn't know how he would manage if Teaspoon made Lou leave.
"Now boys," Teaspoon silenced their protests. "The company has rules, and, as an employee of the company, I have to follow those rules. Lou, you have proven that you can do the work, better than some of these boys I might add, but I just can't keep you on. You understand?"
Lou nodded, willing herself not to cry. She had known this day would come, but she hoped it would be a very long time before it did. She hadn't saved enough money to support her brother and sister yet, and now she didn't know what she would do.
"Now, I'm not finished yet," Teaspoon looked around the room, making sure he had the undivided attention of everyone present before continuing.
"Lou, you have to be out of the bunkhouse tonight..."
"But where will she stay?" Cody interrupted.
"Cody, if you would let me finish, I'm getting to that part." Teaspoon glared at the boy for interrupting him. "As I was saying, you have to be out of the bunkhouse tonight. However, there is a spare room over the jail. It's gonna need a good cleaning, but you're welcome to stay there. You can stay at Rachel's until you get the room ready.
"That's great Teaspoon," Lou spoke up for the first time. "But what good is a place to live gonna do me if I don't have a job? And nobody in Sweetwater is going to hire me. I'll either be the one who was fired from the Pony Express, or everyone will find out I'm a girl. And then I'll be that horrible girl who pretended to be a boy and rode for the Pony Express."
"Now see, that's the trouble with you boys...and girl," Teaspoon added, still a little shocked that one of his express riders was female. He certainly hoped none of the others were, although he was reasonably sure they weren't. Looking at Lou now, he couldn't believe he didn't notice anything before.
"What is the trouble with us Teaspoon," Jimmy asked good naturedly, bringing Teaspoon out of his reflections.
"The trouble with you all is that you are always interrupting me before I finish what I'm saying," Teaspoon said. "I was going to say Lou, that now that I am marshal of Sweetwater, I'm going to need a dependable deputy, and we all know that Barnett ain't it."
"What are you saying, Teaspoon?" Lou asked.
"I'm saying that if you want the job, it's yours."
Chapter 2
