Lou could not believe what she was hearing. Standing on Rachel and Teaspoon’s porch it took every fiber of her being to remain in control. “Are you saying you won’t watch the girls for me while I’m gone?”

“Louise, it’s not that I don’t want to watch them, it’s just that I can’t condone this. I won’t help you run away again.” Rachel leaned on the rail of her porch, her arms crossed and her hands hidden so Lou wouldn’t see them shaking.

”Why can’t you understand that I’m not going away forever? I’m just going to get away for a few weeks, go see Fallon and Connor, and then I’ll be back. I just need to clear my head so I can start fresh.”

“Why can’t you do that here? In Sweetwater?”

Lou was exasperated. “Rachel, do you think I’ll be able to think, much less move around this town without people looking at me and whispering? Everyone is going to know who that boy belongs to if Kid keeps him here and until I can decide how I want to deal with this, I need to be away from here.”

“What about the girls, Louise? How can you just leave them after telling them such news? Don’t you think they might feel like you are abandoning them?” Rachel didn’t care if she had to use guilt to get Lou to stay.

“The girls will be okay. They took the news very well and even think of Jackson as a new playmate. I just can’t take it that easily.”

“Why not wait for Kid to get back, maybe the two of you can take a trip and talk about this.”

“Drop that thought, Rachel. I won’t let you trick me into waiting around here to face him, just so I can have his son flaunted in my face. As a matter of fact, I don’t want the girls staying with him either!”

“Now that is utterly ridiculous, Louise! He’s their father. You can’t keep the girls from him.”

“Wanna bet on it?” Lou was angry beyond the point of making sense. “He needs to see just what he gave up when this secret came undone last night.”

Rachel turned on her heel and started for her door. “I just can’t help you, Louise. I will not allow you to tear your family apart at the seams as well as everyone else who loves you and the Kid. You’re being selfish about this.”

“How can you say I’m being selfish? You’re actin’ like this is my fault! When he’s the one who got a girl in a family way and then left her behind. Now he’s got a mess to clean up and I’m the one made to be the outlaw.” Lou gripped her head tightly to keep it from exploding. The headache that started when she’d fainted had yet to go away. “I just need some time to think, Rachel. That’s all I’m asking for.”

“Take all the time you want, Louise, but you won’t get any help here.”

“Fine! If you won’t help me, them I’m sure Jenny will! Fine friend you turned out to be Rachel Hunter.”

Rachel closed her door as Lou stormed away towards the Cross household. Shutting her eyes to stave off the tears, she silently prayed that Jenny would be as strong as she had been.

It had taken some convincing, but Lou persuaded Jenny and Buck to watch Mary Emma and Sarah for a few weeks while she went to Denver. She would have to travel with Madeline because the three-month-old baby was still nursing, but figured it was easier than taking all three children with her. She didn’t plan to be gone long and knew the familiarity of the ranch would be better for the older girls.

Getting Jenny to agree to keep the girls from Kid had been harder, but Lou was convinced she had made her wishes clear. She honestly believed the clean break would be the best for them in the long run. Mary Emma would stay home from school while she was gone in order to protect her from the other children; children who could often be cruel once they were fueled with their parent’s gossip.

Knowing that Kid was still in town with the boy and his guardian, Lou coerced Buck into taking her east to Willow Springs so she could catch the stage to Ft. Collins from there. Buck had only relented for her protection and for the sake of Madeline. From Ft. Collins it would be a relatively short train ride to Denver. She planned to send a telegram to the O’Sheas from Ft. Collins so they would be expecting her.

Lou made the eastbound stage with only moments to spare and once underway, she felt the stress of the last day settle into her body. Buck’s last words rang clearly in her ears.

“Are you sure about doing this, Lou? It seems pretty drastic.”

“I have to make a point here, Buck. I just can’t let him think this isn’t going to affect things.”

“Just don’t let it affect too much.” He leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Come home soon, Lou. Your family needs you now, more than ever.”

Watching the familiar landscape pass by, she thought wistfully back to her days as an Express rider when she had sailed over the land with only the mail to protect. Glancing down at her sleeping baby, she knew it would never be that easy again. Now she had three children to protect and only a short time could be spared to figure out how.

Sorting out the details of his new guardianship of Jackson had taken longer than Kid had hoped, and it was already Tuesday afternoon before he and Jackson rode back into the ranch. It seemed quieter than it should have been considering they had recently expanded their business. Calling out as he entered the stable, Kid was greeted by Wally, one of the foremen he and Buck had hired in recent years to help them with ranch operations.

“Welcome back, Kid. See you brought us a new hand.” Wally laughed his usual guffaw, amused at a joke only he understood.

Kid looked beside him at Jackson and remembered that all the hands were in town Sunday night when the incident occurred. He didn’t want to shock the older man, but felt he couldn’t hide Jackson’s identity from the people he worked with and trusted.

“Actually, Wally. This here is Jackson Simmons. He’s my son and he’ll be staying here at the PX with us.”

The foreman was silent, a sound that Kid found more unnerving than anything else Wally had ever said in the three years he had known him.

Pulling his thoughts together, Wally stretched out his hand in greeting to the young boy. “Pleased to meet you, Jackson. Know much about horses? We run a mighty fine ranch here.”

Jackson pulled himself up as tall as his eleven years would allow. “Been around horses my whole life. I can handle ‘em.”

Wally let out another belly laugh at the boy’s show of bravado. “Good to know. We may need your help ‘round here. Got a bunch of mares ready to foal and lots of horses that need tendin’ to.”

Kid gave his foreman a nod of thanks. “Jackson, why don’t you go look at the horses at the far end of the stable? We’ll need to get one picked out for you.”

“Really? You mean it?” Jackson couldn’t believe he was going to be given his very own horse. Kid barely knew him and already he had been nicer to him than anyone he had met in a long time.

“If you’re gonna live on the PX, you’re gonna have to have a horse to ride. Go on, I’ve got to talk to Wally.”

The two men watched the boy wander down to the far stalls and waited until he was out of earshot before speaking.

“Take one day off and we sure miss a lot, eh boss?”

“Wally, more than you can imagine,” sighed Kid as he removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m surprised Buck or one of the others didn’t tell you. It certainly was the highlight of our Sunday supper.”

Wally looked at the ground and avoided his boss’ eyes.

“What, Wally? You ain’t talkin’ and that makes me nervous. What’s goin’ on around here?”

“Kid, maybe you should talk to Buck.”

“Talk to Buck about what, Wally? You’re dancin’ around like you got a hot coal in your shoe. Just what is goin’ on here!” His voice rising to a shout, Kid startled the horses prompting a chorus of whinnies and snorts from the stalls.

“It’s just been real tense around here, is all. What with you and the Mrs. both gone, and Mrs. Hunter not speaking to Miss Jenny. All the boys been talking, but I been telling them to mind their own hives and not worry about the bees next door.”

Kid’s head was reeling. Lou was gone? What was Wally talking about? It didn’t make any sense. “Wally, where did my wife go? Where are my daughters?”

“Let Wally go, Kid.” Buck happened into the stable just as Kid grabbed the foreman’s lapels and pulled him closer.

Kid looked down at his hands and was instantly apologetic for manhandling his friend. “I didn’t mean it, Wally. I just ain’t myself right now.”

“No harm, Kid. I know you didn’t mean nothin’ by it. I think I’ll go help Jackson pick a mount and let you two talk.” Wally started down the aisle, but turned before getting too far. “What should I tell the boys if they ask about Jackson? He looks too much like you, to hide that you’re his daddy, Kid.”

“Tell ‘em the truth, Wally. I want that boy treated with respect and if anyone has a problem with that, you send ‘em packin’. Understand me?”

“No problem, boss.”

“Think that’s gonna be necessary, Kid?” asked Buck.

“I don’t know, Buck. I just don’t want any flack from the men. I’ve got enough comin’ at me from other directions.” Kid walked to the hay bale in front of the first stall and sat down with a weary thud. Realizing that no one had explained where Lou was, he jumped back up.

“What’s goin’ on around here, Buck. Where’d Lou go? Wally said she’s gone and Rachel and Jenny ain’t speakin’. I’ve been gone less than two days and all hell has broken loose?”

Buck exhaled slowly. He’d known all along that he would have to be the one to tell Kid about Lou, but having time to prepare hadn’t made it any easier. “She ain’t here, Kid.”

“Well, so I’ve been told. Where did she go?”

“I think she said something about going to Denver to visit with Fallon O’Shea.”

“She spoke to you before she left and you didn’t try and stop her!”

“Have you ever tried to stop Lou from doing something she was determined to do?” Buck’s voice rose to match the Kid’s, but he softened his tone when he saw the pained expression on his friend’s face. “She said she’d be back in a few weeks, Kid. She’s not gone forever.”

“I just can’t believe she would steal off like this. You’d think I would’ve seen her in town waiting for the stage. I would’ve stopped her.”

Now it was Buck’s turn to stare at the ground.

“What’d you do, Buck?” Kid glared at him.

“I took her to Willow Springs to catch the stage to Ft. Collins.”

“Buck,” he groaned. “Why would you help her? Why didn’t you make her wait for me?”

“She knew you’d try an’ stop her, so she wanted to go east first. I didn’t want to help her, but I was afraid of what she’d do if I didn’t.”

Kid dropped his head, exhausted. He was drained and fighting with Buck was going to get him nowhere. “She took the girls, didn’t she?”

“No, just Maddy. Mary Emma and Sarah are here.”

“She left them alone!”

“You don’t think she’s that foolish do you, Kid? She may not be thinkin’ with a straight mind, but she’s not a bad mother. She left the girls with me and Jenny. She knew it would be better for them here.”

“I’d better go get them and do some explaining.” Kid dreaded the thought of telling the girls about Jackson’s true identity. He hated thinking they might not trust him for hiding this from them.

“Lou already told them,” said Buck as he backed away from Kid unconsciously, fearing his next explosion.

“She what! That’s it! She’s gone mad! How could she do that without me? Is she trying to turn them against me?”

“Kid, now I don’t agree with Lou’s leaving, but I will tell you she did a real fine job explaining to the girls. Probably better than you would have. She never said a bad word about you and she told them that you still loved them. They took it real well. You’ve got some good kids there.”

“She told them that? She told them I loved them?”

“She did. I wouldn’t make that up, Kid.” Buck could see the strain of the past few days in the pained look on his face and knew he was about to make it worse. “We do have one other problem.”

“Now what? I don’t think I can take much more today.”

“Well, it’s got to do with Jenny and Rachel and well, Lou too.”

“Wally said something about the two of them not talking.”

“Well, Lou started it.”

“How could she have, she’s not here.”

“She went to Rachel to ask her to keep the girls and Rachel said no. She said she wouldn’t help Lou run off. So Lou got mad and convinced Jenny to do it. Then Rachel got mad at Jenny for givin’ in so easily when they had made a pact to not help Lou break up your family. Jenny just did it for the sake of the girls, but Rachel’s also mad at her for agreeing to Lou’s condition.”

“Condition?” Kid’s mind was exhausted and Buck’s explanation had him spinning in circles.

“Lou doesn’t want Jenny to let you see them.”

“Who?”

“Mary Emma and Sarah.”

“My own children? Where does Lou come from thinkin’ she can make such a rule!”

“I don’t know, but she thinks she’s proving a point. I argued with Jenny not to agree, but I could see the situation was giving her too much stress and I didn’t want it to hurt her or the baby. It’s all too much for her.”

“I’m sorry for putting her out, Buck. This is not Jenny’s fault; it’s my wife’s! Look, I’m gonna go see the girls, I know Jenny’s gonna fight me, but I’ll be gentle with her. They need to be with me right now while Lou and I sort this out.”

Buck had known the banishment wouldn’t sit well with the Kid and had even prepared Jenny for the battle. He didn’t want her upsetting herself and told her to give the girls to Kid without a fight. She’d argued, but eventually relented. Looking down at the far end of their stable, Buck could see Jackson seated on Midnight and being led into the ring.

Kid followed Buck’s stare. Looking back at his friend and partner, Kid felt he owed him an explanation. “I’m takin’ him in.”

“I figured you would,” Buck stated without looking away from the young horseman. “Never known you to do anything, but the right thing, Kid.”

Kid gave a half smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “Not sure it’s the right thing, but it’s what needs to be done.”

“You sure he’s yours, it’s not a trick?”

Kid appreciated his friend’s loyalty as well as his attempt at protecting him. “No, he’s mine. I’ve known about him for a while, but never told anyone ‘cause I was never able to find him. I figured it was just easier to say nothing. Guess that wasn’t one of my better ideas.”

“Apparently not,” agreed Buck. “Is his mother around?” Buck had a suspicion as to who the boy was born to, but he wouldn’t say it without being told first.

“No, she’s dead. So are the people who were raisin’ him.” Kid wasn’t ready to discuss who he had fathered the child with, but sensed Buck knew anyway. “If I didn’t take him, then that guardian was gonna drop him in the orphanage. What else could I have done?”

“Nothing else, Kid. Lou’ll calm down and realize that. Just give her some time.”

Thinking of his wife, off on a trip to ‘find herself’, Kid grunted. “Well, she can have her time because I won’t run after her. It’s what she expects me to do. It’s what I did last time, but this time it’s up to her. I tried to explain and she didn’t want to listen. If she wants to save this marriage then she’s gonna have to come back here to do it.” With his point made, Kid turned and headed out of the building and across the yard to Buck and Jenny’s house.

The door was open before Kid could even reach the first step. He was overwhelmed with love when he saw his two daughters charging out of the house to greet him. There was no hate in their eyes, no mistrust or confusion, only the adoration and love he craved everyday.

“Daddy, you’re home!” cried Sarah. “We missed you!”

Scooping both of his daughters up from the stairs and into his arms, he nuzzled them close. “And I missed you both so much. How about some sugar?”

The girls giggled and covered his face in kisses like they did every morning when they woke and every night before bed.

“Daddy, your face is scratchy. It hurts my lips,” pouted Mary Emma.

“I know, sweetheart. I’m going to clean it up before supper. I hear you’ve been having an adventure over here at Uncle Buck and Auntie Jenny’s.”

“Mama went on a trip,” whispered Sarah like it was a big secret that Lou was gone. “She said we could stay here until she gets back.”

“Well that sounds nice, but how about the two of you come home with me and keep me company instead?”

“Is Jackson coming too?” questioned Mary Emma as she searched over her father’s shoulder for any sign of the boy.

Kid was shocked by how easily she had accepted the boy’s presence. “Yes. He’s gonna live with us now. Would that be okay with the two of you?”

“Sure, Daddy. Will he play with us?”

Kissing Sarah on top of her head, he set the girls down. “I don’t know, princess. It may take some time before he knows you. Why don’t you go get your things and we’ll go home? I’m hungry. What do you say to some flap jacks?”

The girls stopped halfway up the stairs. “For supper? We can’t do that,” laughed Sarah.

“Of course we can. We can do anything we want.”

Kid heard Mary Emma whisper to her little sister as they ran into the house. “It’s all Daddy can cook. We’re gonna eat a lot of flap jacks until Mama gets home.”

Kid turned to look at his empty house while he waited for the girls. Upon returning to Sweetwater, he and Lou had picked out the exact spot and built a new home, letting Buck and Jenny have Emma’s old place. It was a simple home, but one they had built with love. He looked at the garden that Lou was trying to grow and the small cluster of trees that Lou was determined they build near so they would be in their yard. The dry spring was not treating the plants well and he feared they would be scorched by the time Lou decided to return.

“Hello, Kid.”

Kid turned at the sound of his name. “Hello, Jenny. Feeling well today?”

Placing her hand on her swollen belly, she leaned against the rail. “About as well as can be expected when you feel like you’ve swallowed a pumpkin.”

The two friends fell silent after their pleasantries. Both knew there was nothing else to say about the matter at hand. Kid knew Jenny had made a promise to Lou, just as well as Jenny knew Kid needed her to break it.

“Coming round for dinner tonight, Kid?” A smirk appeared on Jenny’s face as she asked, “Or do you really plan on feedin’ those children flap jacks?”

“They’re my specialty,” he smiled back. “I appreciate the offer, Jenny, but tonight I think it should just be me and the children. It’s gonna be hard enough without everyone else around.”

Jenny nodded her understanding, while looking past Kid at a figure walking towards them.

Kid turned to see what Jenny was looking at and was surprised to see how close Jackson had gotten without him hearing his approach.

“Good timing, Jackson. Just getting ready to take the girls home and get supper started. Did Wally get you a horse picked out?”

“He said I can ride Midnight. Said he was sired by Mrs. McCloud’s horse.”

“Midnight’s a mighty fine choice, Jackson.” Jenny had descended the stairs and greeted the boy warmly. “If he’s half as fast as Lightning is, you’ll win every Founder’s Day race Sweetwater has.”

Kid gave Jenny a smile of gratitude for her willingness to accept Jackson. Recalling her rescue from the Lakota many years before, and how poorly she was treated by the townfolk and her own father, Kid was relieved to have her guidance to fall back on. Leave it to one who had suffered as a social outcast to lead the way, he thought.

“Jackson, this is your Aunt Jenny. She lives here with your Uncle Buck and their children - Isaac, Noah and Sally.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jackson. I hope you’ll like it here at the PX.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Jackson went shy and nearly jumped out of his skin when the door banged open and the McCloud girls came barreling out with their cousins close behind.

The introduction to the children was noisy and confusing, but went as smoothly as could be expected. Jackson was the oldest by several years and it was obvious that the younger ones were going to idolize him.

Leading his troops home, Kid silently said his prayers and wished on every god he could think of that Lou came home soon. Watching the last of the children enter the house, he turned towards the east and whispered into the wind, “I can’t do this alone, Lou. Please come home soon, my love.”

Chapter Seven