Kid came back only way after midnight. Lou was sleeping on the chair by his desk, but Buck was still awake, staring at the ceiling. "She wanted to apologize, but fell asleep about an hour ago." He said.
"She was right, thou, you know." Kid spoke back.
"No she wasn’t, Kid. I already told you, I don’t think you could’ve done anything different. You are the marshal, and you did what you had to do as a marshal."
"But I didn’t do what I had to as a friend, Buck. And I was that to you." Kid said, looking at his hands.
"You still are, Kid. but not for long, I’m afraid."
"Well, I thought about that when I wasn’t here, and I’ve come to a decision." Kid said, reaching for his desk drawer.
"What decision?" Buck asked suspiciously, getting up from his bunk and moving toward the door.
Kid pulled a set of keys and opened the cell door. "I’m getting you out of here."
"What are you talking about?" Buck couldn’t understand.
Kid moved closer to Buck and opened the handcuffs. "You getting out." He said.
"You can’t do that, Kid. you’ll get in trouble. Think about your family. They need you."
"Your family needs you." Kid said. "I’ll say you ran away. That you’ve managed to get a hold on my gun, and that I had to let you go. I’ll try to truck you tomorrow, but of-course you’ll be long gone and I wouldn’t be able to find you, and besides, being an Indian, you know how to cover your tracks, right?" Kid smiled sarcastically. "Just make sure to really be as far as you can and please do cover your tracks so Shuster and his men won’t find you." Buck was speechless and Kid continued, handing him his gun. "Take it, so I will sound more truthful. And please don’t hit me too hard…"
Buck took the gun, then hugged his friend. "Thank you, Kid." he said through tears. "You know this means I won’t be able to ever come back here."
"It’s either that or you won’t be able to ‘come back’ to nowhere." Kid answered.
"Just say good-bye to Lou and thank her for me, and please tell her I love her."
"I will, Buck, but you’d better go." Kid pushed him toward the door and turned his back on him.
"Thank you, Kid. For everything." Buck said before knocking Kid out.
Lou woke up to the sound of groans. She stretched her stiff back and searched for the cause of it. Her eyes caught the sight of Buck’s cell, which was now open and empty. She looked for Kid and found him lying on the ground near the door. She ran to his side, helping him up. He held his hand on the back of his neck. "Damn, he hit me hard." He muttered.
"Where’s Buck, Kid?" Lou asked dangerously.
"He’s gone, escaped. He must’ve hit me and escaped."
"You mean you let him escape." She whispered, not knowing who might be listening.
"What are you talking about?" he denied her accusations. "He got a hold on my gun and escaped."
"You can tell me the truth." She said.
"This is the truth, Lou. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to gather a posse to look for him."
"Kid, you’re not going to bring him in again, are you?"
Kid looked into her eyes, searching for her love. Through the mask of anger, he couldn’t find it. He lowered his head and nodded. "I have to, Lou." He said.
She only made it easier for him when she moved as far from him as she could within the boundaries of the small office and looked at him unbelievingly, tears welling in her eyes. "How can you?"
Kid had to suppress a smile. He must be even better than he thought, if she believed his act like that. But the situation was serious. He knew she would never forgive him for this. Even if he, in-fact, won’t ‘find’ Buck. "I’m sorry." He mouthed and walked out.
Lou sank to her knees, sobbing. Only a week ago, her life was perfect. Of-course she had problems, her marriage needed some changes, some improvements, but she never, not in her most terrible nightmares, thought it will come to a point where she wouldn’t trust Kid. Even when Buck was his prisoner and he truly believed he was guilty, she knew it was his beliefs. But now… when he already admitted he was wrong and Buck was innocent…
Jimmy was sitting at his desk, teaching Jed how to play poker. He smiled as the boy won again. "You are going to be just like your mother." He said. "I never could beat her in a card game."
"Did you ever beat dad?" Jed asked.
"In cards? Yeah. Your father isn’t a big fan of cards."
"Dad is good in being a marshal." Jed said and Jimmy could swear he heard sadness in his voice.
"And you don’t like him being a marshal?" he asked.
Jed shrugged. "Are you a good marshal?" he asked.
Jimmy thought about that carefully. "I think your father is better at it than I am. Would you like to be a marshal when you grow up?"
"No." Jed answered. "I would want to spend time with my kids."
It finally dawned on Jimmy. "He’s not home a lot." He said understandingly.
Jed shook his head. "Mama is pretty upset about it too. And dad wasn’t sleeping at home the night we came here."
"Where was he?" Jimmy asked.
"He was staying at town. The night before as well."
"You want me to talk to them?" Jimmy asked. "You know they love each other, and you and your sisters. Maybe if they knew how much it’s hurting you…"
"It will be okay. When the trial’s over."
"Whose trial?" Jimmy asked. He was curious the first time Lou talked about it, and only now understood Jed knew something about it.
"I don’t remember his name, but he’s a friend of them. And he’s Indian."
"Buck? He’s name’s Buck?" Jimmy asked excitedly.
"Yeah, that’s it."
Just then a young man came in. "Marshal, you have a telegram." He said, handing Jimmy a piece of paper.
"Well, Jed, looks like you’re going home. This telegram is from your mother and she asked me to bring you there."
"Is everything alright there?" Jed asked.
"It doesn’t say, but we’ll be home tomorrow and see for ourselves." Jimmy put his hand on the boy’s shoulder for reassurance. "Come, let’s tell your sisters. I’m sure Mrs. Brown will be just as happy as you are to see you go."
"They sure give her a hard time." Jed laughed.
"It’s a wonder how your mother keeps up with those two…"
When Kid came back Lou was no where to be found. He searched the office and behind it, searched the grocery store and even the church. When he gave up on the town, he went home. He found her sitting on the porch, two carpetbags by her feet.
"I didn’t find him." He said as he dismounted Katy.
"I’m sorry for you." She said. "What will happen to your job now?"
"Nothing." He said. "He escaped, I couldn’t find though I tried."
Something in his tone alerted her. He wasn’t as disappointed of not finding him as she thought he would. He even sounded as if he was… happy?
"What’s with the bags?" Kid asked, bringing her back from her dreams.
"It’s your clothes." She answered, drained of emotions. She spent the whole day crying. Crying in town, crying on her way home, crying when she packed his things.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you would be the one to leave." She waited for him to understand. When she saw the recognition on his face, she continued. "So these are your clothes. I couldn’t put them all in those two bags, so there are some more left here." She rose to her feet and started to go inside, when Kid grabbed her arm.
"Is this really necessary?" he asked.
Lou had tears in her eyes again. "Please, Kid…" she whispered. "It’s hard enough."
"Hard, Lou?" he cried. "What was the hardest? Telling me you want me in your life anymore or pack my things?"
She couldn’t control the tears any longer. He really thinks I enjoy this… she thought.
"Is this really necessary?" he asked again, lowering his voice.
She nodded and all he could do was let her go. It was pointless. He saw she made up her mind, and knowing how stubborn she was, there was no point in even trying to make her reconsider. He picked up the bags and went to sleep in the stable, not wanting to go back to the town, and not wanting to leave her all alone in the place.
What now? Kid thought when he heard someone outside calling for the marshal. He lazily rose to his feet and went out, just to meet his youngest daughter running into his arms. "Hey," he laughed at her enthusiasm. "What are you doing here?" then his eyes caught the sight of Jimmy and his two other children.
"We got a telegram from Lou, asking us to come, so here we are." Jimmy said as he approached Kid and hugged him. "We were at the house, but since no one was there we figured we’ll find you here."
"Lou is not home?" Kid asked, getting worried.
Jimmy shook his head. "Is Buck still here?" he suddenly asked.
Kid looked at him surprised. Lou said she didn’t tell him about Buck. Jimmy saw the question on Kid’s face and explained. "Jed told me about him. Is he still here?"
"He ran away last night." Kid said. "I couldn’t find him."
Jimmy looked at him carefully, but said nothing. He sensed Kid wanted to say more, but couldn’t in front of the children. "Maybe we should take the kids home?" he said.
Kid fixed the children something to eat. He felt awkward at his own home, and he didn’t like this feeling. While the kids were eating, he motioned jimmy to follow him outside. "I didn’t know she wrote you." He said.
"Jed said you had problems." Jimmy said.
"We don’t anymore." Kid said bitterly. "I left."
"What do you mean?"
"We don’t live together anymore." He said, his voice breaking. "Things aren’t as they used to be."
Jimmy sat stunned for a few minuets, before he found his ability to talk again. "When did this happen?"
"A couple of nights before we sent the kids. But last night I finally understood how permanent it really is."
"What about the kids?" Jimmy asked.
"They’ll stay here with her. I’m still working in town, so I won’t be too far from them."
"So you just gave up?" Jimmy asked incredulously.
"Jimmy, too much had happened."
"What happened, Kid? What’s so big that it can destroy your marriage? You two love each other. I don’t understand it."
"With everything’s that happened… I wasn’t home a lot, going to work early, coming home only very late, and now with Buck…"
"What’s the story with Buck?" Jimmy asked, hoping to finally get an answer.
Kid looked at him before starting the story to its details, ever since Shuster brought Buck to him. He told him the truth about Buck’s escape, but didn’t forget to mention his earlier mistakes.
"You have to tell her the truth." Jimmy said after Kid finished his story, and a rider figure could be seen heading in their direction.
Lou dismounted her horse, her face red and her eyes swollen. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I’m sorry…" Kid started. "I’ll go…"
"I didn’t mean you." Lou said. "Jimmy, what are you doing here? Where are the kids?"
"You sent for us…" Jimmy started, but Lou didn’t wait to hear. She rushed into the house, to see her children.
Kid and Jimmy exchanged glances and went after her.
"I didn’t write you, Jimmy." Lou said, looking up at the men, from where she was kneeling beside her daughters.
It finally dawned on Kid and Jimmy what it meant. They looked at each other, looking for answers, to questions they were both thinking of.
"What are we going to do, Kid?" Lou finally asked, her instincts making her turn first to her husband. He pulled her into his embrace and stroked her head as she buried her face in his chest.
"You’d better tell her the truth, Kid." Jimmy said.
Lou looked at her friend and then at her husband. "What is he talking about, Kid?"
"Not here." Kid said, leading her to the bedroom she now occupied by herself. He closed the door behind them and sat next to her on the bed. "Buck didn’t escape." He said. "I let him go. It was the only thing I could think of. His only chance. I gave him my gun and told him to hit me." He stopped, letting it all sink. "I gathered that posse so it will look as if he really ran, but I wasn’t looking for him. I ignored tracks and led them in the wrong direction. I looked for men who doesn’t have the smallest clue about tracking, so they won’t see through it." He looked at her, searching for her reaction.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she looked at her hands. "I’m so ashamed." She whispered. "I should’ve known you better."
Kid shrugged and was quite surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I’m so sorry, Kid." she whispered. "I should’ve known better."
"It’s okay. I lied to you, and there was no way you could’ve figured it up. At least I hoped there wouldn’t be. It only made me trust my story more, seeing that you believed it."
Lou looked at Kid’s eyes, seeing only love and affection shining through the deep blue, not anger or disappointment. "Kid," she started, her hand cupping his face. "What is happening to us?"
Kid looked at her, but when he tried to say anything, he found it was impossible as his throat was choked with tears. A nock on the door saved him. "Come in." he said, standing up and walking to stand by the window. Before Jimmy could speak, he already understood what it was that he wanted to tell them. "Lou…" he said in a hoarse voice. "Get the kids and stay in Jed’s room."
Lou stood and walked to the window to see what it was, but he stopped her. "Lou, please do as I say."
She decided not to argue with him, seeing how serious he was. "Take care." She said before stepping out of the room.
"Now what?" Jimmy asked.
Kid looked at him. "You have any suggestions?"
"Yeah, lets try and stay alive." Jimmy said as the two of them headed downstairs. They walked out just as the men reached the house.
"We don’t want any trouble." Kid said. "Now turn your horses and ride out oh here."
"We’ve warned your wife to stop, but she wouldn’t listen to us. She thought we wouldn’t find your kids. It’s a shame they are going to witness their father being killed."
Kid didn’t even flinch. With a calm voice, he spoke again. "This is your last chance to go away unharmed."
"The only one that’s going to get hurt is you, Mr. McCloud. You ain’t even man enough to give your wife your name." The leader of the group said, rising his. His men did the same. Though practiced Jimmy and Kid were too slow. "Now drop your weapons. Both of you."
Kid and Jimmy hesitated at first, but seeing there was no other options they did as they were told.
The leader motioned the man in the rear to come forward. "Shoot him!" he ordered.
The man looked at his leader. "But…"
"No buts." The leader shouted. "You will do as you were told."
The man held his gun in a shaky hand, aiming at the Kid.
"Shoot him!" the leader barked.
"Don’t do it." Jimmy called. "Think for yourself. If you’ll murder the marshal you will be hang."
"Only if you catch him." The leader said. "Don’t push your luck, marshal."
"Don’t do it!" Jimmy said again.
Kid glanced up to see Lou standing at their bedroom window.
"Shoot him!" the leader said. "Shoot him now!"
Kid didn’t even see the gun fired. He only felt the bullet hitting him, sending him flying on his back, landing on the porch steps.
Jimmy dived for his gun and shot the man. The others started shooting at him and he ran inside taking cover and shooting from behind the door. It only took seconds to join him, even as tears were shimmering in her eyes.
"How bad?" she asked, shooting and dropping another man.
"I couldn’t see." Jimmy answered, stopping to look at her. "Where are the kids?"
"Upstairs. I told them to stay there, but they are very scared."
Jimmy shot and killed another man, and ducked back behind the door.
"I have to check on him, Jimmy." She said, but he caught her before she could move.
"They will kill you and then what?" he tried to talk some sense into her. "Help me here and we will get to him as soon as possible." He promised.
The shooting continued for another couple of minutes until the three members left of the gang, including their leader, retreated.
On to Chapter Eight
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