Ghost of the Past
The young man sat quietly in the marshal's office, staring out the window, with a dark expression on his face. From behind his desk, an older man studied him carefully for a long while before commenting, "Kid, that glass is gonna melt if you keep blazing holes through it with your eyes." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kid, I was very young and very stupid, I had no idea what kind of a man he was. I tried so hard to fight him, but I wasn't strong enough. When fighting didn't work, her eyes had misted with tears, when fighting didn't work I begged him. But he didn't stop... ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, Kid, if you don't mind, you are about to kill my shoulder here," Teaspoon's voice suddenly broke through the flashback playing in Kid's mind.
by Joanna
Chapter I
Distractedly, Kid swung his head towards Teaspoon, his boss and friend, "What?"
Teaspoon met the young man's troubled blue gaze and said, "You been staring out that window like you're afraid the devil's gonna come through it if you blink!"
Kid attempted a smile, but it never reached his eyes, "Sorry, Teaspoon, I guess I ain't being real good company."
"What's on your mind son?" He wondered.
"A lot, really, but I can't really say much about it."
"Thinking about Lou again, I suppose. Have anything to do with that Wick's character that was shot today?" Teaspoon asked casually.
Kid shrugged evasively. Actually, as usual, Teaspoon was right on the money. The last few days had been hell on Lou. First, a friend from her past had showed up, troubling her with bad memories. Then, chasing behind her was a man named Wicks, who had driven the beautiful woman to kill herself. Wicks had then gone after Lou, convinced that she had the money Charlotte had stolen from him. Lou had gotten the upper hand during the struggle that followed, and pulled a gun on Wicks. Kid had ridden up just in time to stop her from killing him. Only after Wicks was brought into town and shot by the man in love with Charlotte did Kid know why Lou would have killed him.
Now, he wished he'd let her kill him. Hell, he thought furiously, I wish I'd killed him myself.
"The doctor thinks he is going to make it?" Kid wondered suddenly through clenched teeth. After Wicks had been shot at point blank range, they'd assumed he was dead. When the undertaker had come to get the body, he'd had quite a scare when Wicks suddenly moaned.
Teaspoon nodded, "I'm guessing you are referring to Wicks. Yes, the bullet passed clean through. He was shot just about the same spot as Ike, and from a much closer range, and he lived and Ike didn't. Not more than a few inches and Ike could still be with us."
Kid nodded sadly as tears filled the old man's wise eyes. He walked over to the rail by Teaspoon's desk and perched on it, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. Next to Buck, Teaspoon seemed to be taking the loss of one of them the hardest.
Kid's mind was too filled with the image of Lou as she sat on a hay bale across the aisle of the stable from him, telling him what she'd kept to herself for so very long to dwell on Ike at the moment.
Kid's stomach had lurched violently as rage bubbled to his throat. He'd leapt up from the hay bale to strike a wall in fury. Seeing Lou withdraw from his anger, he'd quickly gone to her and sat beside her. She'd avoided his eyes, her own were swimming in tears of shame. Sensing she'd pull away from an embrace, Kid had resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and instead had reached out to grab her hand. So finally he knew why she'd done it, why she'd hidden her beauty from the world and taken such a hard road. She'd been too scared to be who she was. And yet, she'd found her true self again with all of them.
I would have killed him on the spot if I'd known Lou, Oh God, I can't believe I stopped you! You had every right!
She'd shaken her head, and finally glanced up into his eyes, You stopped me from murdering a man in cold blood. You saved me from hanging.
Kid had swung his head in irritation, still feeling guilty.
He's dead now anyway, it doesn't matter that I didn't pull the trigger, Kid.
Kid had smiled at her gently, and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him in a protective embrace and saying Yes, he's gone, and I swear no one will ever hurt you again. Not while there's breath in my body, Lou.
"Huh?" Kid suddenly realized he'd never released Teaspoon's shoulder and his fingers had clamped onto it as he thought about his rage.
"Lou left before we found out Wicks wasn't dead, Teaspoon," Kid suddenly said, withdrawing his death hold on Teaspoon's shoulder and playing with his hat instead, "You going to lock him up if he makes it?"
Teaspoon sighed, "Kid, I can't really hold him for anything. Charlotte shot herself, Lou won't tell me whatever it is that has her running scared and jumping at her own shadow, and unless she's willing to testify that he held her up in the woods, which I have a feeling she won't be, I can't keep him here. Even if she did testify, he didn't hurt her, Kid."
"He could have. He would have if she hadn't pulled the gun on him!" Kid insisted, "And he might try again!"
"Did and might are very different cases, Kid," Teaspoon commented, squinting at him, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Kid looked Teaspoon squarely in the eyes and considered telling him what he knew, but realized that Lou would see that as betrayal, even if it was for her own good. She just wasn't ready to let everyone share her secret, and Kid couldn't do it for her, just as he couldn't refuse her when she'd asked not to tell everyone she was a girl.
"No, Teaspoon, there's nothing I want to tell you."
Teaspoon might have pushed him, but the doors to the office creaked open and a dust clad Hickok strode in, beating at his dirty clothes.
"Well nice of you to remember us Jimmy," Teaspoon drawled sarcastically, "Did you forget that we moved to Rock Creek, or just decide to take a little holiday?"
"Aw, come on Teaspoon," Jimmy groaned, "I've had a bad week."
"And how is that?" Teaspoon wondered, hiding a smile. Jimmy held a special place in his heart, and he enjoyed tormenting the boy, especially in the beginning when Jimmy had been such a hot head.
"I found an Indian brave that had been shot. I took care of him, and was going to leave him after that, but he was helpless. I did all I knew how to do, but we were attacked by a few Indians of an enemy tribe, and he was hurt worse. He died, and I took him into the mountains to his village," Jimmy sighed wearily.
Teaspoon clapped Jimmy on the back, squinting as a cloud of dust rose and swirled about them, "I'm sorry son, but I'm proud of you for what you done."
"Just wish he would have made it," Jimmy mumbled.
"I know, I know. You did the best you could, I'm sure," Teaspoon nodded reassuringly.
"So how's Rock Creek been since I left?" Jimmy wondered.
"Ask Kid over dinner," Teaspoon grinned and slapped Kid on the back too, "You boys go get washed up for supper and tell Rachel I'll be along directly."
Teaspoon watched as his riders walked from the office, smiling when Jimmy turned to Kid and wondered, "So what's he talking about? What happened here?"
Kid shot Teaspoon a dirty look before he turned the corner.
Chuckling, Teaspoon made his way out the door and to the doctor's house.
"Is he gonna live, Doc?" Teaspoon wondered once he stood on the Doctor's porch. It occurred to him that just few weeks ago he'd stood in front of the same man asking the same question about Ike.
He only wished the answer could have been the same...
"Yeah, he'll make it. Be on his feet by tomorrow, might want to send a deputy to watch him and bring him to the jail tomorrow."
"Not holding him," Teaspoon shook his head, "Just have him stop by my office to collect his belongings," Teaspoon muttered. It was a damn hard thing to wonder if things would be better if a man died, but there was something about this Wicks fellow that had Teaspoon ready to put a hole through his heart, and he certainly knew Kid wanted to. But, if he couldn't put a bullet in him, though, he could sure put the fear of God there instead.
At least Kid had some idea why Wicks was better off dead. Trying to extract an answer from Lou had been dangerous...for him, at least.
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Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V
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