Kid paced the length of the livery. He had spent the last two hours practicing the speech he would give his father. He had to go after Louise... he loved her. And now he was all she had. He didn't believe for a minute that this Donald Boggs was really Lou's father.

He was going to get her back...he turned to Katy and stroked her neck, "You'll go with me, won't you girl?"

Sam Cain walked out of the shadows laughing, "Kid, that horse is so in love with you, she follow you to the ends of the earth. She's more of a pet than a horse..."

Kid stared at his father, levity was in short supply these days. "I've been waiting for you."

Sam moved closer to his son. He looked at the handsome young man before him. His eyes held a saddness that scared him. What in God's name had happened today.

"I've got to leave."

"What?"

"Louise was taken away! They say it was her father, but she didn't want to go... I-" he roughly wiped at his eyes, "I didn't want her to go."

Sam put a strong hand on Kid's shoulder. "That doesn't mean you can just run off to find her. Do you know where to look?"

"I know the city, I'll find her."

Sam was confused, Kid was never this evasive, "Which City?"

Kid looked at the ground, "Arlington."

"Arlington? My Goodness Kid! What could you be thinking? Do you have any idea how far away that is?"

Sam turned away, he had hardly ever denied his son anything that had been important.

"If it was Ma? Would you go?"

Sam's eyes softened. Kid's mother had died years ago...but her memory was always with him... if someone had taken her away...

"Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't-"

Sam gathered his son in his arms, hugging him tightly. "No Kid, there's nothing wrong with what you said. I just remembered how we were at your age. If she had been taken away.. I would have levelled whole cities to be by her side."

Kid smiled at the sound of love in his voice, "So it's okay?"

Sam smiled, "If you didn't go... I'd wonder how you felt about her."

On to Chapter Nine

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