Lou froze and let out a gasp. Fear swelled up inside of her, but with much effort she kept her stature stiff and erect.
Kid moved Katy up closer, creating a shield to close the gap between she, Jimmy, and the stranger's gun.
"Listen mister, we're not carrying anything valuable. We are just Pony Express riders." Jimmy kept his hands raised slightly, not wanting to show the man any sign of hostility. Nor, did he want to give the man an excuse to shoot.
Much to their surprise, the newcomer lowered his weapon as his face became grim. "Now, James Hickok, I'm hurt. You don't even remember your best old friend."
Jimmy sat staring at the man in front of him. His gaze was fixed into the stranger's eyes and he tried to pull the memory of the man's face from his mind. Finally, it came to him. "Harvey? Harvey Cutter"?
Harvey's previous stern face melted into a soft smile. He re-holstered his gun. "It's been a long time, James."
Jimmy nodded in affirmation. "Yes it has. So what brings you out to these parts? I thought you were in Boston."
Harvey moved in closer. "Well you know how it goes. Something just came up and I had to come out here." He motioned to the two riders who were sitting in bewilderment. "Who are your friends here"?
Jimmy turned, "Oh these are my fellow riders. Kid and Lou, meet my old friend from back home. His pa and mine started a ranch together.
They both smiled back. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Where are you boys headed"? Harvey asked.
Kid responded. "We're going to Seneca tonight, and from there to St. Joe." There was something about this man that Kid didn't like. He wondered if the others felt it too. Jimmy hadn't exactly been too friendly with this man who was supposed to be his dear old friend, which didn't help to stifle his suspicions.
Cutter turned around to face the direction of Seneca. "Good, I'm on my way there too. Now we can just travel together."
Lou glanced at Jimmy and noticed the distress that the prospect of his friend journeying onward with them brought. She looked over at Kid and saw that he was observing the same thing.
Jimmy looked back at his companions who shrugged their shoulders. He returned his glance to face Harvey. "OK, then we should be on our way." With that the four riders continued on their path to Seneca.
For what seemed like an eternity, Kid and Lou had ridden behind Jimmy and his friend. They listened to old stories of the boys' adventures. There was something about Harvey Cutter that you didn't like, but at the same time you couldn't help but like him. Lou found herself laughing at Cutter's recount of the time he and Jimmy had gone fishing and instead of fishing for fish, they spent the whole time pulling each other out of the river.
It was nearly dark when the riders stopped in Seneca. Cutter had practically insisted that they stay at his small place in town, but they were graciously able to back out of it.
"Nice to have a little peace." Jimmy said as they unpacked their few belongings and boarded their horses in the town stables.
Lou was removing Lightning's saddle and she glimpsed over at him. "Really? Sounded to me like you were enjoying yourselves." She snickered slightly.
He threw her a disgusted look. Jimmy had never been to keen on people telling tales about his younger years. In fact, he found himself quite embarrassed by all that had been discussed. Fortunately, he realized the stories wouldn't travel through the entire West as fast with Kid and Lou having been the witnesses. Now if it had been Cody....
Kid seemed oblivious to their conversation. "Did he ever say why he was here? It seems strange that he was so jumpy with that gun of his." He patted Katy's neck and started behind the others across the street to the hotel.
"No, that was unusual for Harvey. Makes me wonder if there's a lot he's hiding." Jimmy wiped his brow. Figures that I'd run into him of all people. Just proves my point that everything's going wrong.
Kid approached the man who was siting at the front desk in the hotel lobby. Apparently it had been a rough day, because the man was peacefully sleeping with his chin on his chest. "Excuse me." Kid said trying not to alarm him.
The man jumped slightly. "Huh? Oh, may I help you"?
Jimmy stepped forward and rested his elbow on the desk. "We'd like two rooms please."
The man looked around behind Kid and pointed to Lou. "Can't you three share a room? I'm short tonight."
Lou's eyes widened slightly. She wasn't very thrilled at the prospect of having to share a room. A room and the bunkhouse were two completely different situations.
Kid caught her expression. "Well we really need two. See he's got this snoring condition."
Lou's eyes pierced him as she bit her lip trying not to laugh. She returned her gaze to the hotel manager, who was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess seeing as you boys look like you've had a rough ride, I'll open the spare room."
"Thanks." Jimmy signed the register and took their keys. "Let's go get settled. I'm hungry."
Picking up their small packs, the three riders headed upstairs. Jimmy handed Lou the key to her room, which was directly across the hall from his room. "We'll meet you right out here in a few minutes." Kid said as he waited for Jimmy to open the door.
She nodded and proceeded inside. Lou smiled in satisfaction at the sight of the large bed in the center of the room. The bunks back at the station weren't bad, but these beds were luxurious by comparison. She took off her hat and sat down allowing her feet to dangle. After a few moments she proceeded over to to the wash basin to clean her face. Oh, this water feels good! She sighed to herself.
"Which side do you want"? Kid asked Jimmy as he threw his saddle bag on the bed. For some unknown reason he was beginning to feel uncomfortable around the looming silence of his best friend.
Jimmy blotted his now-clean face on the towel. "Don't really care, just so long as I get my share of the blankets."
Kid began changing is trail-dirtened shirt and sat on the chair by the desk. "This Cutter friend of your's seems pretty nice." Kid watched as Hickok kept a straight, stiff face. Jimmy really wasn't in the mood to discuss his former childhood friend....and it showed.
"You could say that." Was his short reply. Kid decided to drop the subject and leave well enough alone....for now. He had this feeling that James Hickok wasn't telling him all there was to know.
A few moments later there was a light knocking on the door. "It's open." Kid called.
Lou peeked her head in slowly. "You boy's ready. This lady's starved." She stepped inside their room.
Jimmy looked at Kid. "I'm ready if he is."
"Yeah, just got to find my hat." He looked around searching. "I just had it."
Lou stepped over to the small table sitting in the corner. "You mean this"? She said picking it up.
He playfully grabbed it. "That's the one." He smiled, then noticed her attire. "When did you get that"? He said pointing to her blue-laced dress. "It's pretty."
She looked down at it brushing out the wrinkles. "Oh just a little something I picked up on my last run. Thought you boys might like the company of a real lady at dinner, rather than a dirty cowboy."
Kid tickled her. "I'd take you any old way." She laughed and regained her composure.
"Now Kid, remember, you're supposed to be a gentleman." Lou said as she wiped her watery eyes.
Jimmy stood staring at the scene. Then, the feeling came back again... James Hicock, you're jealous. He thought to himself. It was terrible to have these emotions swelling inside, but he didn't know how to handle them. Can I ever deal with this? Jimmy knew it wasn't a question open for debate. He HAD to work things out for himself. The hardest part was knowing how.
"If you two are finished, we can go now." He said, breaking the thoughts being churned in his mind. The agreed and followed him downstairs. The hotel manager was once again asleep at his post, so he payed no attention to the young boy who had so miraculously transformed into a pretty woman in a dress. They tip-toed past him, not wanting his precious sleep to be interrupted.
There was a small restaurant two blocks away from the hotel. It was a lovely evening, making the walk all that more pleasant. Dinner was delicious, which seemed to make everyone happy, and in spite of Jimmy's silence, Lou considered it most enjoyable.
It was completely dark when the three of them said goodnight back in the hallway of the hotel. Jimmy hastily entered their room, touching Lou's shoulder gently before he bid her sweet dreams. Kid watched him go in and close the door. "Lou, you really looked beautiful tonight. Course you're always beautiful."
She smiled warmly at him. "The company I'm with has a lot to do with it."
A few precious moments of silence passed before he kissed her gently. "Get some rest Lou. We've got a long ride tomorrow." She hugged him tightly peered into his gentle blue eyes. "You too, Kid." With that he waited until she was safely in her own room before he proceeded to his own.
Lou was so exhausted from the past day that she was asleep within moments, snuggled warmly under her covers. In what seemed like minutes, when in reality several hours had passed, Lou was awakened to a hand firmly pressed against her mouth. As she was abruptly awakened, her startled squeal was muffled.
"Don't move." The gruff voice ordered. She felt the clammy metal of a gun barrel pressed against her neck. "Now, I'm going to take my hand off of your mouth. But if you scream, you won't live to see morning."
Slowly raising his arm he whispered into her ear. "I want it, and I want it now."
On to Part Four