After Lou's initial reaction to the comment she had made about thinking it was time ' there was a little more loving, instead of fighting' going on around the waystation, Lou had grown quiet. Now as Rachel stood beside her and studied her profile, she became increasingly worried that there was something really troubling Lou. From where she stood, Rachel could see that Lou's eyebrows were bunched together and that the tips of her mouth were turned downward, clear signs to Rachel that the female rider was deep in thought and she wondered what Lou was thinking about.
She stepped off the porch and went to stand before Lou, hoping that by doing so, that Lou would snap out of her concentrated reverie and talk to her. Rachel knew that there wasn't anything really she could do to ease this troubling time for Lou, at least, nothing except for listening to Lou if she wanted to talk. She knew all too well how painful things could be when it came to matters of the heart. She had had her own heart broken many times as she was growing up, and the one ache that still remained was watching Henry getting murdered and the death of her unborn baby. There were times, still, that the burden of their loss would overwhelm her and send tears of anguish rushing to the surface.
Even though the memories of her husband were still with her and often tormented her, Rachel had never been happier before in her life. From the very first moment she had stepped into Emma Shannon's shoes and became the new housekeeper and cook for the Sweetwater Pony Express Waystation , she had known her life would never be the same again. Even though there had been opposition between her and Lou at first, and she had to set the boys straight on a few things (Particularly Cody), she knew that she had finally found a home with people who loved and respected her for who she was. She loved all the boys, Jesse, and Lou, and would do anything for them. Teaspoon.well, Teaspoon made her heart feel something that she had never thought she would feel again.'course, he didn't know it. She wasn't sure she would ever tell him, either. She rather liked the fact that they had such an easy-going relationship, and she didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize that relationship.
Rachel reached out and lightly took hold of Lou's arm
and repeated her previous question. This time Rachel
was rewarded with a response. Lou shook her head as if
to clear her thoughts and looked up into Rachel's
concerned face. Realizing that she must have been
standing there for several moments in silence, Lou
felt her face flush with embarrassment. As concerned
as she had been on the run back to Rock Creek about
not doing or saying anything to raise her family's
suspicions, here she was losing herself in thought in
front of Rachel. Hurriedly she tried to think of
something she could say that would explain her
prolonged silence.
Finally, she decided that she would just be as honest
as she could be, without admitting more than she had
to.
"Huh? Oh, Rachel. Did you ask me something?" she asked absentmindedly.
"I just wanted to know if you were alright. You seemed so lost in thought." Rachel told her.
"Yeah, I guess I was. " Lou told her.
"What were you thinking about?" Rachel prodded gently, giving Lou an opening to talk a bout whatever had been troubling her.
"Kid, mostly. " Lou admitted. "Look, Rachel, I'd really like to wash some of this trail dust off of me and get some rest. Could we talk later?"
Rachel nodded. "Sure. You go on and get some rest. I have some chores to be get done before supper. Otherwise we won't be eating till midnight, and I'd hate to see what would happen if we made Cody wait that long to eat!"
Lou burst out laughing, as she stepped onto the bunkhouse porch and went inside. Rachel did have a point though. Patience was definitely a virtue that William F. Cody wasn't given at birth. Keeping Cody from eating when his bottomless pit of stomach was demanding to be fed, and he became downright dangerous. He was like a dog with a bone. The dog could be as friendly and loveable as anything when there was no food in sight, but as soon as the dog's given a bone you'd be risking life and limb if you got to close to the dog or the bone.
She was still laughing at the joke that Rachel had made as she entered the bunkhouse and went to her bunk. Lou untied the string that held her bedroll together, and began to remove her belongings from it. Carefully she removed the dress she had purchased while she was gone and held it against her. She walked over to the mirror in the corner and stood admiring herself before it. It wasn't until another figure appeared in the mirror behind her, that Lou realized that she wasn't alone in the bunkhouse. She whirled around, heat spreading over her face at being caught admiring herself.
Jimmy had been asleep on his bunk when she had entered the bunkhouse, and had awakened to the sound of her laughter. He didn't really care about what it was that she was laughing at, just enjoyed listening to the sound of her laughter. He hadn't realized that it had been so long since he had heard the melodious sound and he found that he had missed it. There hadn't been much lately that had cheered Lou enough to make her laugh and he was reluctant to say or do anything that would cease her laughter.
It wasn't until she pulled out the beautiful dress and held it before her that he pulled himself silently off the bunk and walked toward her. He stopped a short distance away from her and gazed into the mirror at her reflection. He had to admit that the reflection he saw there was enough to make any man stare. Lou held the dress below her chin and he could see that the color of the dress was a deep red color that seemed to make her doe eyes light up becomingly. The style of the dress was simple and seemed to fit the outline of her petite frame perfectly. He couldn't wait to see what she would like in the dress. He didn't have time to do anything else, before Lou's eyes widened in the mirror as she noticed him in it and she whirled around.
"What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that Jimmy?" Lou declared angrily, her heart pounding in her chest.
Jimmy smiled in spite of himself at her outburst. He expected he had it coming for not alerting her to his presence. It would have been uncomfortable to both of them if Lou, believing that she was alone in the bunkhouse, had decided to change out of the dusty clothes she wore. Course, he didn't think he would have mind as much as Lou would have.
"Sorry, Lou. I didn't mean to scare you. I just woke up and saw you standing there so I thought I would come say hello." Jimmy told her, trying to make amends.
Lou smiled wryly at him. "Sorry, Jimmy. I just didn't think that anyone was in here. When I saw your reflection in the mirror it startled me."
"That's okay, Lou. I'm just thankful that you didn't go for your gun. I scared the hell out of Cody yesterday." Jimmy told her, telling her about the incident that had happened the afternoon before.
They were still laughing over the story that Jimmy had told her, when Kid entered the bunkhouse a few minutes later. The laughter drained from Lou's lips as she saw Kid, clearly expecting that an argument between him and Jimmy would ensue. Jimmy and Kid seemed to stare at each other for a few moments in silence. Then Kid smiled ever so slightly and said,
"I was wondering if you would like to go for a ride after you've rested up some Lou."
Lou's mouth dropped open in surprise. Kid and Jimmy both notice Lou's reaction and quickly hid their amusement. Clearly, they both thought to themselves, Lou had been expecting them to tear into each other like they had done before she had left.
"Sure, Kid, I'd like that." Lou told him.
This time Kid's face lit up in a genuine smile. "Great. That sure is a pretty dress Lou." He told her before exiting the bunkhouse.
Lou stared after him in amazement for the second time in the short while she had been back at the waystation. Jimmy smiled at her bewilderment, but inside he was seething. (You might have made the first move Kid, but I'll be the one making the last move.) He vowed to himself, before he left the bunkhouse too, leaving Lou alone with her thoughts.
"Huh? I'm sorry, Rachel, were you talking to me?" Lou asked absentmindedly.
"I asked if you were all right." Rachel told her.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking." Lou replied.
"About?" Rachel prodded gently, a knowing smile on her face.
"About things. If you will excuse me Rachel, I really would like to get washed up and rest a bit. It was a long ride." Lou told her hurriedly, jumping onto the porch and entering the bunkhouse before Rachel could reply.
A twinge of guilt flooded over her at the way she had brushed off Rachel. She hoped she hadn't hurt Rachel's feelings, but she just didn't want to talk about Kid right now. She stalked across the bunkhouse and flung her bedroll onto the top of her bunk. She was trying to hoist herself up onto the bunk beside it, when she heard a sound behind her and whirled around to see who or what had made it.
When she saw Jimmy sitting on the edge of his bunk, running a hand through his tousled dark hair, Lou couldn't help remembering the searing kiss that they had shared two days earlier. Her heart sped up, and her pulse raced as Jimmy stood up and walked towards her in that confident walk of his. There was a look in his smoky gray eyes that she couldn't quite decipher, but it sent shivers racing down her spine just the same. A vivid memory of the kiss that they had shared filled her mind, causing heat to spread over her entire body and settle into her face. Lou swallowed uncontrollably, as Jimmy stopped a few feet away from her.
Jimmy felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest as he looked at Lou. He had thought of almost nothing else but her, during the past two days.
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