Lou paced impatiently in front of Tompkins’ store, waiting for the stage to arrive. Her thoughts again began to wander, and she found herself wondering where Kid was. He’d taken one run since their wedding, and Louise had heard through the grapevine that he was looking for additional work. Lou no longer had an income, and with the imminent demise of the Express approaching, money would soon be incredibly tight. Both Kid and Lou were used to living hand to mouth, but thid was just another strike against their new marriage.
Lou spun the band on the ring finger of her left hand. She loved Kid with all her heart, and would live in a hole in the ground with him, if that’s all they had. But she knew her stubborn husband’s pride would never allow it. Kid had proclaimed time and time again that Louise would be provided for, that she’d never go hungry and she’d always have a roof over her head. What lengths would he go to to keep that promise? After all, even Kid’s brother Jed had crossed the line... Stop! Lou told herself. You’re being ridiculous!
If there was one thing she could be certain about with Kid was his honesty and decency. She could count on the fact that he’d never run into trouble with the law when it came to issues of money. Kid would work things out, like he always did. Lou just wished he’d let her help. He was taking on too many worries about their future, in addition to his flustered emotional state regarding Noah and Jimmy. Louise knew they needed a break from Rock Creek. Perhaps the honeymoon they hadn’t taken...
The sound of the stage drew Louise out of her thoughts. She knew Cassie would be worried sick, and she hoped to calmly inform the young woman of Noah’s condition without frightening her. But she did expect young Quinn to be filled with questions about the rider he adored.
“How stupid of me!” Lou fumed. “What was I thinking?”
“Lou, it’s really no big deal,” Cassie answered, trying to calm her. “We’ll just walk back to the station and have one of the boys come fetch the trunk later.”
“No, I’ll just rent a buckboard from the livery,” Louise replied.
“Lou, it’s a waste of money!” Cassie countered. “Besides, after being on that stage, the walk would do us some good.”
“But don’t you wanna get to the station and see Noah?” Quinn asked.
“Quinn, please,” Cassie replied.
“No, he’s right,” Lou agreed. “Stay here. I’ll only be a minute,” she said, heading towards the livery.
“Excuse me!” Louise called to the young man cleaning stalls at the livery. “I need to rent a horse and buckboard.”
The young man turned, and Lou gasped in surprise. “Kid? What...why are you here?”
“You need to rent a horse and buckboard, Lou,” he answered, almost contemptuously.
Louise raised her eyebrows at the tone of her husband’s comment. Suddenly, the thoughts that had been racing in her mind throughout the day burst like a dam, and she verbally attacked Kid. “Just what in the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m wastin’ precious money? I’ve offered time and time again to work, but you won’t have it. Instead you sulk and mope around, carrying grudges and being downright nasty to people. It ain’t Jimmy’s fault Noah’s hurt! You two were...no are friends, but you got a funny way of showin’ it! We’ve been married a week, Kid. One week. And to tell you the truth, it’s been one of the worst weeks of my life! Is that how it’s gonna be? Am I gonna have to live with this side of you for the rest of my life?”
“For your information, Louise, I’m tryin’ to earn some money here,” Kid shot back. “The Express is endin’, and then what? How are we gonna eat? Where are we gonna stay? If worrin’ about that is sulking and offends you, then yes, you will have to live with it the rest of your life, ‘cause I’m worried about it, even if you’re not!”
“I told you I’d work, Kid! I’m sure Tompkins could use the help in his store. But you won’t stand for it. You won’t have your wife workin’, like it’s some reflection on you! You’re worrin’ about money, but you expect me to sit around havin’ tea with the Ladies Aid or somethin’! I ain’t some Southern lady who does that, Kid, and you of all people ought’ta know that! I’m no Samantha, and gettin’ married didn’t change that!” Louise shouted, enraged.
“Lou, just leave. I don’t wanna hear that ever again!” Kid shouted back. “We’ve been over that and over that. That ain’t what I expect, and you know it!”
“I don’t know it, Kid!” Lou answered. “You’re actions are speakin’ a whole lot louder than your words, and that’s exactly what your actions are tellin’ me. And now you think I’m wastin’ money by renting a horse and buckboard. You don’t even bother to ask what it’s for, you just make some snide comment about it costin’ money. Do you treat all the livery customers that way, or just your wife? For your information, I have to get Cassie and Quinn’s things back to the station so she can help with Noah, and I forgot to bring Rachel’s buckboard along! So if you get me the horse and buckboard, in the best interest of your employer, I’ll leave like a proper wife!”
Kid shook his head in disgust, and he couldn’t control himself from laying into Lou again. “You forgot Rachel’s horse and buckboard? You forgot them? How did you think you were gonna get their luggage to the station?”
Tears began to well in Louise’s eyes, but she wasn’t about to give Kid the satisfaction of seeing them. “Yeah, I forgot. If you were around the station more you’d know there are more important things to worry about. I’m tired and I forgot. It happens. I’m human, Kid, unlike you. I make mistakes!”
Kid hitched the horse to the buckboard and shoved the reins toward Lou. “I’ll put it on our account,” he added snidely.
Louise grabbed the reins and snapped them on the horse, driving away without a good-bye. Tears of rage and hurt poured down her cheeks as she headed towards the store to pick up her passengers.