Bracing himself for the war he knew would start when he opened the door, he headed for the bunkhouse. inside the remaining riders were lounging around discussing the upcoming town dance. "I've already asked Amber Johnson to the dance. I'll be the envy of every guy there", the always ego driven Cody said. Amber Johnson was the daughter of the town's banker and was considered by many to be the prettiest girl in town.

"I figure if I don't ask anybody then I'm not limited to one girl all night" said Buck. This statement caused Cody to become quiet as he began to question his decision to ask Amber. The only two not joining in the discussion were Kid and Lou. Kid's latest interest, Samantha, had recently left town amidst a storm of controversy. None of the other riders would tell him but they were all glad to see her go. Trouble had plagued them since her arrival, plus secretly they were all rooting for Kid and Lou to work things out between them and live happily ever after. With her gone the odds of that went way up. Kid and Lou had tried being together as a couple but Kid's need to always protect her and her need to prove her independence had been too great an obstacle. They had ended their relationship when she turned down his proposal. Shortly after the end of their relationship Kid had begun to see Samantha. As Kid lay there listening to the others discuss the dance he couldn't help but be envious. He really wanted to go but knew that the only person he would want to go with wouldn't be attending the dance. Lou or Louise had previously gone to dances dressed as a boy to keep up her disguise as a male pony express rider. Once she had attended one dressed as a girl and passed herself off as a visitor "just passing through". She had already decided not to go to the dance as she didn't feel like going as a man and was afraid of arousing suspicion if she "passed through" again as a visitor. The other riders noticed their silence and felt bad for them.

"It's not fair for them" Cody thought," in another era Lou could dress however she wanted and maybe she and Kid could have worked things out."

Suddenly Teaspoon walked in with his list of extra chores. The moans came from everyone.

"But Teaspoon, it's too nice today to work. I wanted to go to the swimming hole" Cody objected.

"Well Cody, think how much better that swim will feel after you've rebuilt the corral fence" Teaspoon answered. Suddenly a commotion was heard out front, and the bunkhouse door was thrown open. In ran Thomas Jacobs, the local gazette owner.

"Teaspoon!!!" he yelled, “I just received word there's a gang of robbers just hit Willow Springs, the same group who hit Blue Creek a week ago!"

"Well that's interesting news Tom but it doesn’t really affect us" Buck said, confused why Tom had run all the way there to tell them this.

"But it does" he replied, "The Carson gang are the worst of the worst, killing innocent people just for fun. Rumor is they're heading this way. What will we do? Barnett is still not recovered from his riding accident, and you can't defeat them alone."

At this Kid smiled,” He ain't alone, He's got us. He can always just deputize like he always does". Thomas didn't look the least bit relieved at this thought.

"Now Thomas it will be alright. Let's go to my office and discuss how you're not going to print a word of this yet" Teaspoon said steering Thomas out the door.

After they left the riders all looked at each other. Kid, who had always been able to read Lou, better than anyone else, had noticed a strange expression on her face since Thomas's announcement.

"You alright Lou?" he asked the tiny rider. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't stop loving her.

"I'm fine Kid. I just got a really funny feeling, like something is coming, good or bad I can’t tell" she answered.

"Well if it involves the Carson gang it's probably going to be bad," Cody said, and the others all agreed.

Later that day found Kid at the woodpile. He had chosen that chore from Teaspoon's list. He had discovered awhile back the act of chopping wood allowed him to think without disturbances. He had also learned the hard way to wear gloves to keep his hands from getting blistered. Right now there was only one thing on his mind, and he could see her from where he was. She was working with Buck on repairing the fence. Her small frame crouched down trying to hold up a board her hair tied back in a ponytail. He loved how long her hair was getting now; he'd worried at first that she would just keep cutting it as it began to grow to help with her disguise. He had been relieved when she had confided in him that she missed her long hair and couldn't wait for it to grow back. He remembered how her hair felt as it brushed his shoulder when they would make love. At this thought he lost his grip on the ax and almost cut off his foot.

"You’d better pay attention here" he reprimanded himself. He realized he just couldn't help it. She had been in his thoughts and his dreams. He had thought seeing Samantha would help him forget her and move on but it was becoming clear that it wouldn't be possible. He continued to talk to himself as he chopped, “What do I do now? Where do I go from here? How can I make her see I want her back?"

"What do I do now? Where do I go from here? How do I make him see I'm not ready to get back together yet?" Lou was asking Buck as they hammered a board into place on the fence. She found it so easy to confide in Buck, his silence soothing her. She usually confided in Jimmy but he wasn't due back from his run until tomorrow and her emotions were just not going to wait that long to come out. "I know I love him and always will but he was the first....for everything" she admitted, reddening slightly with embarrassment. "He got a chance to see someone else. Why shouldn't I? I don't have to accept the first man to come along do I? There's more out there."

Buck just listened silently. "Those two are meant for each other, but she may be right. How do you know how much you like something if you never get to try anything else? How do you know vanilla is your favorite if you never tried chocolate or strawberry?" Buck thought to himself.

"The trouble is how can I ever have another relationship while I work here as a boy?" she continued oblivious to his distraction.

"Lou" he answered," if it's meant to be it'll work out". She wondered if he was referring to a certain blue eyed rider or someone else completely. She wasn't sure which one she wanted him to be referring to.

Later that day a stranger rode into town. A handsome man with black hair and green eyes, Henry Martin was tall and muscular. As he dismounted in front of the marshal’s office he noticed several girls openly admiring him.

"Ladies" he said as he tipped his hat at them and went into the office. "Marshall Hunter, I’m Henry Martin from the territorial marshal’s office. I’ve been sent to help you capture the Carson gang.quot;

All the riders had just sat down to supper, including Noah and Jimmy back early from their runs, when Teaspoon walked in. "Boys we have a guest. This is Henry Martin, territorial deputy. He's here to help with the Carson gang situation."

"Won’t you please sit down?” Rachel invited as she rose to get another place setting.

”Thank you ma’am"Henry replied as he sat. Teaspoon began introducing the riders coming last to Lou. She crossed her arms over her chest and merely nodded during the introduction trying to put up her best boy imitation.

Conversation during dinner centered on Henry's adventures as deputy and the boys adventures as riders. After dessert, Henry cleared his throat; looking right at Lou he asked “Excuse me but what is Lou short for? Louise maybe or Eloise?"

Kid spit out the bite he had just taken. Lou jerked her head up in shock at his question. As she did she met his eyes for the first time all night. When their eyes met Lou felt her heart start beating so fast and loud she thought for sure everyone else could hear it.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and so tiny", he thought as he continued to stare. They stared at each other for a full five minutes, neither moving, and neither noticing the looks they were getting from the others. Kid's eyes narrowed as he looked jealously at them

"He's got no right to look at her like that!” he thought. Then he just as quickly reminded himself. "She's not yours anymore". This thought caused his heart to constrict and he felt a desperate need to leave before he choked. As Buck watched Kid, he saw anger and jealousy cross his face as he watched the couple look at each other. Then a look of desperate sadness crossed his face before he jumped up and bolted from the table.

"Uh-oh" Buck thought, "Strawberry’s now on the menu."


Chapter Two!