Taking a swim in the beautiful lake had seemed like a good idea, but Lou was now having regrets. Especially with the female bandit pointing Lou's own gun at her, and thanking her for the kind donation of her clothes. Oh, and of course Lightning. Lou had been so busy swimming in the cool water that she hadn't heard the bandit approaching until it was too late. The woman had the gun. After that, there was nothing Lou could do but remain in the lake and watch her possessions be stolen.

   "Disguising yourself as a boy," the thief began as she stripped out of her dress, and put on Lou's express clothes which were a perfect fit. "That's real clever." Quickly she tried on Lou's shoes. "What do you know? They fit!"

   "You can't-" Lou began in protest.

   "Oh don't worry. I'm going to leave my dress and shoes for you," she informed her victim.

   "You're too kind," Lou said sarcastically. Immediately she began to regret her outburst. If the robber wanted to be really mean, she'd take her belongings with her. Luckily, the woman had a sense of humor.

   "Bye," the bandit called as she mounted Lightning and rode away.

   Lou was furious. Quickly she rushed to shore and put on the clothing left behind. The woman hadn't even left petticoats for Lou to wear! She had taken everything of Lou's. The gun, the horse, the clothes, the hat, even the glasses! The only thing Lou had was the lavender dress the girl was wearing, and the high heeled shoes. "Great," Lou mumbled as she prepared for the long walk home. "Why do men call luck a lady? Luck's never a lady!" Lou exclaimed heatedly. At least, it never was in her opinion. "Or maybe, in my case a lady's never lucky?" It really didn't matter. All she knew was that Rock Creek was a long ways away, and walking it wasn't going to be fun. "Why couldn't she have just asked for a ride?" Lou thought heatedly. "She headed off in the same direction I was gonna go anyway." That's when it hit her. If that woman showed up in Rock Creek with Lou's attire, the boys would surely come looking for her. Maybe if she was lucky........ "Naaah," Lou sighed. She had already come to terms with luck's reliability.

   Two hours later, Louise's feet were killing her. It felt like she had walked forever, but Lou knew she had only covered about two and half miles. The sun was starting to set, and Lou was beginning to give up on her boys. They weren't even expecting her back until late tomorrow. However, the package Teapsoon had sent her to get had arrived a day early, Lou headed back from Willow Springs with every intention of stopping for a quick dip in the lake. That was the mistake of a life time. Now here she was on the open plains defenseless. Explaining to the other riders how she lost the package, and the rest of her belongings was a dreadful thought. The boys would never let her live it down. Images of Cody teasing her for years played in her head. Lou could picture it now. "Now Lou remember," Cody would begin, acting real concerned about her safety before she headed out on another run. "It's a dangerous world out there, so keep your guard up and your clothes on and...." then she'd deck him. Yep, the boys were gonna love it.

   The sound of a rider approaching from behind startled her. As she spun around to face the company she would soon have, Lou felt her anxiety grow. The young man halted his bay horse a few feet from her. He was incredibly handsome, but that wasn't enough to gain Lou's complete trust.

   "Ma'am," he said politely as he dipped his dusty hat. "Are you all right?" The sincerity in his tone gained a considerable amount of Lou's faith.

   "Yeah," she answered softly. "My horse was stolen."

   "I could give you a ride," he offered. "A lady shouldn't be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere by her lonesome." He actions displayed true gentleman qualities, and Lou was sure he meant her no harm.

   "Thanks," Lou said as she climbed on back of his horse. "I need to get to Rock Creek."

   "Not a problem," her new found traveling companion reassured her. "Name's Ethan Hayes." He reached around and offered Lou his hand.

   "Louise McCloud." She shook his hand briefly before letting it go. "I really appreciate you giving me a ride, Mr. Hayes." Lou noticed that the sun was barely visible on the horizon, and she had a feeling they weren't going to get too far.

   An hour later, Lou's suspicion was confirmed. Ethan didn't trust his horse's footing at night, and insisted that they hold up until morning. He habitually apologized to her while they set up camp for the inconvenience. Mr. Hayes had no idea that Lou was used to roughing it. During their supper, which consisted of beans and a few pieces of bread, the two became better acquainted. Louise was becoming quiet fond of him. However, their dinner was interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

   "Well, well, well," the visitor called. "Ethan, when did you acquire such a lovely traveling companion?"

   "Bryce," Ethan cried in annoyance. "How did you find me?"

   "Wasn't hard," Bryce told him casually. "You never were good at covering your tracks."

   "Better at it than you'll ever be," Ethan declared.

   "You're dreaming again," Bryce informed his older brother. Without delay, he approached Louise and took her hand gently in his. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. Bryce Hayes at your service," he stated as he gently kissed her hand.

   "Louise. Louise McCloud," she answered with a smile. "You two are...."

   "Brothers? Unfortunately," Ethan admitted.

   Even though it was dark, the fire still provided enough light for Lou to see the resemblance. Both had sandy blonde hair with stunning blue eyes. Their manners were very similar too. Louise could tell that they were very competitive. They challenged each other, which was a common habit men had.

   "So Miss McCloud," Bryce began with his usually charm. "How did a pretty lady like yourself wind up in the company of my brother?"

   "Shut up, Bryce," Ethan ordered.

   "My horse was stolen, and your brother was gracious enough to give me a ride." To show her undying appreciation, Lou sent a warm smile Ethan's way.

   "How could he refuse a woman as lovely as yourself?" Bryce asked as he sat down beside her. His attention was very flattering.

   "I couldn't," Ethan said honestly.

   Lou couldn't help but blush. All the attention the men were given her was more than she was used to. For the most part, her express boys treated her like one of the boys. The only exceptions were Kid and Jimmy. With them, she was more than a buddy. Still, even they treated her like one of the guys on occasion. Normally that didn't bother her, but sometimes Lou wished she was one of those girls that captivated her bunk mates' attention. Right now she felt like one.

   "So where exactly were you heading?" the younger man asked.

   "Rock Creek," she answered softly. The long day was starting to catch up with her. "What exactly brings you two out this way?"

   "Family business," Bryce replied.

   "We should probably get some rest now," Ethan stated. He sensed the lady was exhausted, and was determined to rescue her from further conversation. "We'll leave early tomorrow morning."

   When sleep finally came, Lou welcomed it. It had been a bad day, but not a total disaster. After all, here she was with two adorable gentlemen that gave her their complete attention. What more could a girl ask for? Riding with them tomorrow would make the trip very eventful, and Lou was looking forward to it!

Trouble with the Rising Sun

   "Ethan," Bryce whispered as he gently shook his brother. The sun was just starting to rise, and he was trying quietly to wake his older brother. "Wake up."

   "What?" Ethan asked. "Why are you..."

   "Shhh," Bryce hissed. "There's trouble."

   "Trouble? What are you talking about, Bryce?"

   "I think we have company," Bryce informed his brother quickly. "I heard something stirring over there." Eventually, Ethan heard the same commotion his younger brother had. The young men headed off to investigate, careful not to wake the lady.

   Silently, they crept up on their unexpected visitor. "It's just a stray dog," Ethan informed his brother. As he turned around, Ethan was caught off guard by the blunt end of his brother's gun. The blow to the head knocked him unconscious, and he sank to the ground.

   "Oh," Bryce said in fake ignorance. He had known it was a dog all along. Too bad his brother hadn't. Immediately, Bryce threw his plan into action.

   "Louise," Bryce said softly as he encouraged her to rise. "We have to get going now."

   "Oh, okay," Lou answered sleepily. She figured she must of over slept, but the sun was barely peeking out over the horizon. Bryce already had his horse saddled, and was ready to ride out by the time Lou rose.

   "Where's Ethan?" Lou asked after noticing his absence. His horse was also gone.

   "Oh. He rode out earlier," Bryce explained calmly. "There's some important family business he needs to take care of."

   "Oh," Lou exclaimed as she climbed on back of Bryce's appaloosa.

   "He'll be fine," the young man reassured her. "Let's get you home."

Trouble's A Lady's Game

   The three express riders had almost finished loading all the supplies Rachel had sent them to get. It seemed like Rachel's lists got longer and longer every time. Still, they couldn't complain. Rachel's cooking made it all worth while. Suddenly, a rider coming into town caught Buck's attention.

   "Isn't that Lou's.." Buck began, completely puzzled by what he was seeing.

   "Yep, but that ain't Lou," Cody said certainly.

   "Well, let's go greet our mystery rider," Jimmy suggested as he lead the way over to the rider who had just stopped in front of the saloon.

   "That's a fine animal you got there," Jimmy commented to the lady rider.

   "I like him," she replied casually.

   "That's real nice to hear," Cody stated. "Now why don't you tell us where his real rider is."

   "Who?" she asked innocently. The men's expressions showed that they didn't care for her game. "Oh her! Well she was kind enough to give me her horse yesterday after mine spooked and ran away."

   "Is that so? Why exactly would she just give you all her belongings?" Jimmy interrogated.

   "She was swimming, so she didn't need them anymore," the woman informed the men with a giggle. "At least, she was when I left her."

   "And where might that be?" Buck inquired of the arrogant woman.

   "I'm not sure. I never was that good at directions." The woman's calm composure was irritating the men.

   "Well," Cody stated as he moved closer to her. "Maybe jail will..."

   "Back it up, boys," the woman ordered as she drew Lou's weapon on them. Her actions had caught the boys totally off guard. "If you'll excuse me." Quickly, the woman swung on Lightning and raced out of town.

   "Damn it!" Jimmy cried as they watched the lady escape. "Let's get after her."

   The riders retrieved their mounts and galloped after the woman. She couldn't have that much of a lead on them, and if they hurried they could probably catch her. Or not.

   The express riders were up against a very cunning woman. In fact, as they barreled out of town, the woman came out of her hiding place. None of the men had noticed her hiding in the alley beside the livery stable. As they galloped away, the young lady exited town in the opposite direction.

   She sure was stirring up a lot of trouble lately. Now she had five men chasing her. The handsome strangers, and her annoying brothers. The strangers wanted to know where their friend was, and her older brothers wanted the money she had stolen from them. Yep she was causing a lot of chaos. But then, causing trouble was a game she played well. "Men," Cally Hayes muttered as she encouraged her mount on. "Why do they pursue trouble so much?"

A Brother's Tricks

   Ethan woke with a pounding headache, and immediately realized that his hands were bound. "Bryce," he cursed under his breath. "I should have known you were up to your old tricks." Within minutes, Ethan managed to free his hands. Bryce could never tie a knot that could hold him. As he made his way over to his horse, Ethan became to determined to teach his younger brother a few lessons. It was about time he put Bryce in his place with a few tricks of his own. After he did that, he would escort Louise home like he originally intended.

On to Part Two!