Lou hated to wake Rachel, but Cassie’s stage was due any minute and she wanted to be there to meet it. Someone had to stay with Noah, just in case he woke up. Lou walked around the bed and placed a soft hand on Rachel’s shoulder, shaking her gently.
“Rach? Rach, wake up,” Lou encouraged. “The stage’ll be here pretty soon. I gotta go meet Cassie.”
Rachel mumbled, holding her head in her hands. “Go ahead, Lou. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure Cassie’ll wanna take over as soon as we get her settled,” Louise told her. “Then you can get some rest.”
“No, Louise,” Rachel argued. “Then you can go home to your husband.”
Lou snorted. Kid had been impossible since Noah’s injury. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, even to her. And the time she had spent with him lately had been awkward, almost cold. She almost felt it was a blessing she’d been needed to help nurse the wounded rider.
“Louise!?” Rachel chided. “What on earth is that all about?”
“Nothin’,” Lou answered as she looked in the mirror, smoothing out her split riding skirt and straightening her mussed hair. “Never mind.”
“Don’t say ‘nothin’’ to me, Louise Brookfield,” Rachel continued. “If you two are havin’ problems already, you better get started on workin’ things out. You got a whole lifetime ahead of you and it’s a little early to be ignorin’ things and lettin’ ‘em fester. My mamma always told me not to let the sun go down on your anger.”
“Yeah,” Lou replied absentmindedly. “My mamma said that, too. And Boggs was never mad, but mamma always had the bruises to prove he had been earlier.”
“Lou? Kid isn’t...?” Rachel couldn’t even ask. It was certainly against Kid’s nature to strike out physically, but after all that had happened lately, hardly anything would surprise her.
Lou spun around. “Rachel, don’t even think that! Kid’s not like that, and you know it,” she defended him. “I mean, he’ll pound on Jimmy and Cody on occasion, but not me! And if he ever did, it’d be the last time. I ain’t gonna end up like my mamma - three kids and a husband who kicks her like some men kick their dogs.”
“Regardless,” Rachel told Lou, “Sounds like there’s some problems to be worked out. I don’t want to meddle, but if you need my help, Lou, you know I’m here for you.”
Louise smiled at her trusted friend. “I know. Thanks, Rachel. Things’ll be okay; it’s just been a horrid week. I shouldn’t be long.”
Lou walked towards town to meet the stage. A million thoughts raced through her mind. Had she and Kid made a terrible mistake? After all, things hadn’t worked out between them before...who knew if they would this time? She loved Kid with all her heart, but he could be so infuriating sometimes, and it appeared as if this was one of those times.
Jimmy had confided in her that he thought Kid was planning to leave for Virginia, but so far, Kid hadn’t mentioned anything to her about it. Was he planning on leaving without her? He couldn’t...she’d made him promise when he proposed that he wouldn’t do that to her again. But she didn’t want to leave Rock Creek, either. That’s where their family was. Jimmy, Buck, Cody, Noah...the men she loved like brothers. Teaspoon and Rachel...their surrogate parents. Kid wasn’t actually considering turning his back on family, was he?
Louise recognized the lone rider racing towards her as Buck. He was returning from one of the few runs the Express carried lately. She waved as he sped past. He looked like he could use a hot bath and one of Rachel’s home cooked meals, which he likely wouldn’t be getting. Rachel had no energy to cook, and no one dared eat Lou’s concoctions. And if he wanted hot water, he’d have to get that himself, too.
The teamwork that had permeated the station in the “old” days had disappeared, too, as each rider seemed intent on living their lives on their own. First Ike’s death, then Noah’s shooting, and finally Jesse’s disappearance. It was almost as if they each believed if they distanced themselves from one another, they couldn’t be hurt again. Lou brushed stray tears from her cheeks as she stepped up on the boardwalk outside Tompkins’ store to await the arrival of Cassie and Quinn.
Prologue Chapter One Chpater Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six
Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine